Rajkot: The familiar scenes of bare-footed women walking miles in scorching sun to get water are beginning to surface in Kutch.According to official data, Kutch district received 282% above normal rainfall last year but the villages on the Indo-Pak border are still crying for life’s nectar.Like every summer, the women of these villages are forced to daily undertake more than five kms walk under the to fetch water.
The cattle breeders too, as every year, have migrated to other places in search of water.
The Paccham Khavda region has 40 villages coming under 17 group gram panchayats.
Rashid Sama from Mot Dinara village and a member of Kutch district panchayat, said all these villages are facing acute water shortage.
“Around 30% cattle breeders have migrated with their livestock to Lakhpat and Abdasa in search of water.
Senior government officials make promises that they will provide us water by tankers and that we will get Narmada water, but we have got nothing so far,” Sama added.
The administration hasn’t drilled bore wells so most of the population here is forced to consume dirty water from ‘virda’ (dug wells).
The traditional ‘virdas’ have been, over the years, quenching the thirst of these villages located in the arid landscape.
Jumma Sama, a leader of Ratadiya group panchayat, blamed the government officials.
“Everyday, I receive many calls from people complaining about water shortage but I don’t have an answer.
I don’t get a proper reply from the district administration when I approach them.
There are private wells in some villages who are selling tanker water and people have no choice but to buy it,” Sama said.
There are many villages which are connected with water pipelines.
But the tanks at these villages get water once every two or three months.
“We don’t get water tankers easily, we get one tanker after 28 days and they charge Rs 500.
We don’t have water for our livestock and we have to go to three to five kms to fetch water,” Hanif Sama, a resident of Mota Bandha village, said.
District development officer of Kutch, Bhavya Varma, said the government is working to ease the problems faced by the villagers.
“The water supply department is handling the issue of drinking water and we are working on the pond deepening project under MNREGA in this area.
We are also planning to create a water recharge structure in government buildings,” Varma said.