In Baramati’s shadow, Pisurve goes dry

Three years of drought have taken a huge toll on the community. Wells have run dry after rains played truant. The average annual rainfall in the region (in Pune district’s five drought-hit tehsils of Indapur, Daund, Sirur, Baramati and Purandar) used to be 834 mm but for the past four years, it has reduced year-on-year: 653 mm in 2000; 762 mm in 2001; 650 mm in 2002; and 574 mm in 2003.

The much-touted Jejuri water scheme is still being tested. Brightly-painted overhead water reservoirs dot the countryside, only there’s no water in them.

True, the administration has been sending tankers — 71 a day for 109 villages in Purandar taluka — and signing up a record number of people — 16,935 at last count — for the employment guarantee scheme at a huge cost to the exchequer, but these measures are simply not enough. Deputy Collector D A Thube (in charge of EGS) says the state government already spent Rs 19 crore between October 2003 and January 2004 on the EGS scheme alone in this region.

Two tankers in two days for a village of 4,000 take care only of their drinking needs. The tankers fill up the village well, but they don’t have a fixed time. So pots and pans of every conceivable size are lined up around the village well waiting to be filled up at all hours of the day. ‘‘My girls are taking the board exams,’’ says one angry mother, ‘‘but first they have to draw water from the well.’’

As for the EGS scheme, those who have signed up work between 8 am and 5 pm, crushing stone, building roads, and earn Rs 12 and 5 kg of wheat each daily for the effort. But with the payment coming only after the work is over — each stretch takes about 12 days — the villagers have already run up debts before they are paid a paise. Most of the people of this once cash-rich village now feels shortchanged.

‘‘Our community is breaking apart,’’ admits Hanumant Eknath Kolte. Already, 40 per cent of the village, mostly youngsters, have migrated to the cities — and the wise, old men/ women are quick to draw comparisons to the 1972 drought, when the highest urban migration happened. Many of the villagers, mostly farmers, have stopped sending their children to school too.

So, how many times has Saheb — that’s what everyone calls the Maratha strongman here — visited the taluka? ‘‘Thirteen times, but we don’t think he knows the state we are in. Otherwise, why is Baramati not suffering like we are?’’

Now, that’s another story.