like in villages and fields across Marathwada, digging until
a depth of 500 metres on lake and river beds, in order to
draw out whatever water is left, is the norm.
A do-gooder friend mailed asking how he could organise a trip to Marathwada to help the many thousands facing what is being called the worst man made draught in Maharashtra since 1972. I decided to vent. And then I decided that he should not suffer alone...
Hello,
Let me tell you, first off, that i'm not in the mood to empathize with most of the people i met while i was in Marathwada and we spent nearly 6 days in three districts covering at least 2 villages if not more in a day. There was just one out of 12 villages where i genuinely felt bad for the residents. You need to understand that the region is without water and of course for obvious reasons that's bad but most of the land owners we met...even those who've had to pull out their ten year old sweet lime trees by the root because they could do nothing to save them own easily over 5 acres of land. What i'm trying to say here (giving grammar and punctuation a toss) is that with last years jowar/bajra produce and a more than decent Public Distribution System they're pretty sorted as far as foodgrain goes. Again clothes are also not a priority because these guys are pretty well to do. Hell a village in Eastern Satara, where it hasnt rained in 2 years, raised money in lakhs for a palkhi yatra for a local deity. I do wish that money had been spent on building water conservation projects.
in any case since i'm done venting, for the time being, if you do have the time and patience and a very very good driver who will not threaten to abandon you midway through the ride because of the bad roads i suggest you go to Kolhewadi in Beed district. The village of 3,500 has only one hand pump. There are no young and able citizens left in this village because they have all gone off to (or might currently be returning from) Western Maharashtra (Western Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, etc) as labour on sugarcane fields, which are owned by the richest politicians in this state and therefore will never suffer from water shortage.
So the village has only back-broken elders and wide eyed and very hungry toddlers. the elders spend entire nights filling a single pot of water from the hand pump because there is no water left (therefore very little water pressure). The average land holding in this village is 2 acres to a family tops. they've run out of the jowar/bajra they tried growing last year. so they are literally without any food or water or people to care for them. No tankers go there because of the aforementioned bad roads.
If you do decide to go to Kolhewadi I can hook you up with the point man who helped us get there. And if you do decide to go to the village please allow me to make a contribution too particularly to an aged couple who tottered up to our car as we were leaving to tell us how their drunk sons had died drinking cheap booze and their daughters had been married off into far away villages. Those two did not even have the strength to carry a pot of water. They're the only helpless in all of Marathwada I'd personally want to help.
Sorry if i've made you read a lot of long and winding sentences (but you asked for it).
Hope this helps.
Peace
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