Rangpar's lone well scares women away

Times of India: Rajkot: Sunday, April 14, 2013.

It's the only source of water left in this village. But women dread to go alone to this well located in a private farm. No, there is no superstition attached, but it's easy to slip into it if one tries to draw water alone.

"We call it 'maut no kuvo (well of death)'. The government may wake up to our problems only if someone falls into it and dies," says Laxmi Rabari, a 50-year-old villager. Other women are quick to disagree. "No one will care (if we die)," quips another.

"This well has no surrounding wall and it is very dangerous for women and children to fetch water from it. I stopped my wife going to fetch from it. Instead I bring water on my bicycle from nearby villages,'' says a daily wager Amara Gangiya.

Rangpar was put on development track by Ratna Ala, the visually impaired deputy sarpanch, who was awarded Rahul Mangaonkar Award for effective use of RTI for public interest by The Times of India in 2009. He got better roads and exposed bogus voting using RTI.

Ala could see the water scarcity three months ago, but the government turned a blind eye to his repeated requests to start water tankers. "I have been running from pillar to post since three months. But no government official is hearing our pleas," he told TOI.

Ratna started the work to dig a well three months ago with concerned government department. "However, the work stopped midway and it restarted after I used RTI to get details about the progress. It is still incomplete," he says.

The village of 750 wears a haunted look as only 80 odd people are left and rest migrated to nearby places in search of water. "I have made a temporary arrangement to live three kilometres away from the village. There is some water here," villager Modhbhai Khachar says.

Like many other villages in Saurashtra, women are forced to walk at least two kilometers in scorching sun to fetch water. "There is no option. What else can we do?'' asks an angry Ramji Khachar. Rajkot district has received just 59 per cent of its average annual rainfall last year.

"I fear to go to the well as I find it difficult to balance myself while fetching water. So, I prefer to walk one more kilometre to fetch water from a private farm owner,'' another villager Shantuben Khachar says.

But private well owners also have their limitations. "They have to run motors to lift water from the well to the surface. How much cost can they afford? We are helpless," Laxmi Rabari says.