In UP, Women-Led Collectives Are Taking On Bundelkhand’s Water Problem.
Until the rains of last year, the arid region was hit by three successive drought seasons.
Now, a water collective from Lalitpur district’s Bhamaurisar village, which faced a similar problem in 2011, has taken charge of Bundelkhand’s daily battle for water.
Many of them have succeeded in drawing the attention of authorities to address and solve serious water problems in their respective areas.
The women, who had rarely stepped out of their village, led a strong campaign and petitioned the district magistrate and local officials for five years.
Ultimately, they succeeded in getting a water supply project sanctioned for their village.
Many times, we were made to sit outside and asked to come back," says Rekha.
Similarly, Renu and Parvati officially formed a water collective Jal Sahelis in Lalitpur’s Kakradi village in 2013 and following three years of struggle, managed to secure funds from the district administration to revive and fortify a dry pond in their region.
"The men used to say that if women started digging wells, what will they do," says Phulwati Devi.
Fed up of walking three kilometre a day to fetch water, the active campaign of the two women paid off when more people – including men – joined in and the government gave them funds for the construction of the well.