A Watery Divide

Water has always been scarce in this Barmer village that’s in the middle of the Thar desert and just three km from the India-Pakistan border. “There is very little water in this area and we have to use it wisely. So it was decided long ago that water would be divided on the basis of caste and that tradition has stuck,” says a Rajput,who insisted on anonymity.

The village of around 900 inhabitants has three community wells and six private ones. “Some of the richer families have managed to dig their own wells with their money. The rest relies on the community wells,for which we pooled in money,” says Mohammed. The community wells cost Rs 1 lakh each and the mildly brackish water is at least 300 feet deep. “The wells are not enough but we have to manage. Those with money sometimes call for a water tanker from Chotan town,around 30 km from here,” he says.

The storage tanks,built of cement and around five feet deep,are built around each well and are always locked. One of the villagers,Dhiru Bhil,says,“In summer,every single tank has a lock on it and the water is rationed.” The tanks,he says,cost around Rs 3,000 each to build.

“Every village in this area uses this system to ration water. There is no other way to do it because we can afford to dig only a few wells. Several other wells have gone dry in the last few years and we cannot afford to waste water,” says Bhil.

The water stored in these underground tanks is mainly used for drinking. “In the summers,most of us go for days without a bath and use whatever little we get for drinking,” he says.

The task of distributing water rests with the village pramukh. “The pramukh decides who gets water and on which day of the week,” says Bhil. Anyone who defies the rule is punished. “Somebody who draws water out of turn is expelled from the village. Though this hasn’t happened in a long time,none of us can afford to take chances,” says Mohammed.