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The water crisis in India has taken a toll on a majority of agricultural regions that are reeling under lack of water. Maharashtra and Karnataka seem to be the most affected states in the country. The drought condition is compelling farmers and their family members to commit suicide, unable to sustain with the failure of crops.
The small village of Tarihal in Karnataka’s Belgaum region has a population of 6,000 people. Earlier these people used to draw water from the four wells in the village, but owing extreme heat and drought, all of them have dried up. The villagers now have nowhere to draw water from. The water tankers that the local civic bodies send does not match their needs.
The water tankers empty all the water in a well, which doesn’t even get half full. As soon as the water is emptied, villagers go berserk to fill their buckets. But the water level eventually drops to a point, from where it cannot be drawn into buckets. At this point, the women have no other option to jump right into the well carrying small cups and jugs. With those, they draw water from the small crevices and cracks on the floor of the well, where the water stay stagnant. Even after so much of efforts, each family hardly gets to fill 10 to 15 buckets of water for all their needs, which hardly suffices.
The toilets in the village further add to their problem. Earlier, all the villagers used to defecate in the open. But now with toilets in almost every households, the village is 100 percent free from open defecation. Now they need water to keep the toilets clean and free from stains, as a result, a lot of water is used for cleaning the toilets. Thus, this is also adding to their woes.
The drought situation in Maharashtra is becoming worse with the passage of time. Water, one of the primary needs for life is at dearth and people are now trying to save even a drop of it. It is high time, we understand the urgency of the situation.
The Logical Indian requests everyone to not waste water and save it in anyway possible.
