No water? Give them some fizz

For Maharashtra’s drought hit belt, water is an abiding concern. Yet, for politicians, it’s a non-issue. And with seven time membe...

For Maharashtra’s drought hit belt, water is an abiding concern. Yet, for politicians, it’s a non-issue. And with seven time member of Parliament and Congress candidate from Latur, Shivraj Patil, distancing himself from the local issues of his constituency—he insists on talking either national or international issues—water will remain their abiding concern.

Rukhmani Ramesh Birasdar, 23, mother of three walks three kms every day to fetch two huge vessels of water illegally from a government reservoir. She handles the housework for an hour and once again readies herself for another three-km trek. Rukhmani makes three such trips every day.

Dilip Aniba Adsure, 38, a small farmer from Manglur village in Latur district, cycles around balancing two big cans and vessels on his cycle. Wherever Adsure sights water, he fills up.

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This is the tale in the 52 villages in the Marathawada belt of Maharashtra. Devastated by earthquake nearly a decade ago, these villages rehabilitated far away from their original site, are now affected by severe drought. There has been no rain in this belt since four years and taps have run dry.

In a majority of villages in this belt angry villagers have destroyed taps or wound it up with thorny bushes or barbed wire. ‘‘What is the use of these taps when there is no water,’’ says Adsure. ‘‘We have punched a hole in the pipeline and taken a connection. Even then water comes after five to six days for less than an hour.’’

Said Hanumant Morba Patil of Lamjana village, ‘‘The State government is not even sending tankers to the village.’’

Every village has its own tanker politics. If the gram panchayat is headed by either the Congress or the Nationalist Congress Party (the ruling coalition in the State) the tanker service to the villages is quick. However, if the gram panchayat is ruled by either the BJP or the Shiv Sena, the tankers service is very slow.

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Ask Shiv Sena sarpanch Shivaji Mirasdar of Manglur village on the status of water tankers and he doesn’t say much. Since four years a single borewell has been supplying water to an estimated 600 families relocated on 1,200 acres in Manglur. Now, it’s almost dry. Ironically, the day BJP candidate Roopa Patil Nilangekar filed her nomination papers for the Latur Parliamentary constituency (Manglur falls within Latur) sarpanch Mirasdar and Sena MLA Dinkar Manet told villagers tankers would be on the way in 24 hours.

The plight of the villagers is summed up by school boys who stopped to speak to this paper enroute to their final examinations. ‘‘Do something for water. Give us little water.’’