Watch | Borchibari: A Village Left To Dry

"Did you gargle and just spit the water out? Preserve that bit of water too, if it’s not being consumed."

That is what people from Borchivari village believe in. It is among six stranded villages on the border of Gujarat Maharashtra, which yearns for caressing. Google maps could not do any better, while locating, this cluster of ninety-nine houses which falls under Peth Taluka of Nashik. While the world closes on the Bisleri bottles, women from this village walk for two kilometers every day to fetch water from a well which doesn’t belong to them, it is from neighboring village of Kumbhala.

"Even our village has three wells, but all of them dry up when January hits. After the video went viral, the panchayat hurriedly dumped two tankers of water at night in one of the wells.” Bharti Gavit said while pulling a bucket from the well. She was referring to an ANI video which went viral where women were seen climbing down the well. “The water got contaminated because of dead fishes, what more help could we have expected. Our whole day goes in thinking of water only” She continued.

After a woman tragically fell into a well last year, the administration responded with promises,an ₹8 crore plan under the Maharashtra Drinking Water Scheme to bring relief to the village. But hope dried up as quickly as the newly dug well. There was no water, only silence. The project, like many before it, never moved forward. The Jal Jeevan Mission too stood on the brink of failure, nearly collapsing under the weight of the same drought. With wells turning into empty pits, the administration turned its gaze to a distant dam, deciding to lay a pipeline across kilometres of land. Though the villagers are still waiting, for another hope, “maybe it will take another election to even make a fake promise. ” Sadu Motiram Manbhav said as rolled back on his khat to sleep. He has loosened hope and six decades were enough more than enough for him to put trust “but life teaches you not to trust.” He yawns while Ramu sits beside him.

Reporter: Pritha Vashishth
Camera: Dinesh Parab
Producer: Divya
Editor: Madiha Shakeel

#WaterCrisis #RuralIndia #Drought#Borchivari #WomenAndWater #JalJeevanMission #MaharashtraVillages #GroundReality #WaterScarcity