Tribal Families Forced To Fetch Water From 12-Foot-Deep Pit In Udaygarh
· Free Press Journal
Udaygarh/ Aalirajpur (madhya pradesh): Despite government claims of providing clean drinking water to every household, tribal families in Kharia Phalia, Charvi village and Ambi Gram Panchayat continue to struggle for basic water needs.
Women and children walk over a kilometre daily and use ladders to draw water from a 12-foot-deep pit in the Ruchki drain, relying on the same contaminated water for drinking and domestic use.
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Nearly 20 families have faced this crisis for years. Local hand pumps have either dried up or produce highly saline, unusable water.
Villagers say women risk their lives daily fetching water in extreme heat, highlighting the urgent need for intervention.
The community’s predicament is worsened as their agricultural land falls under Umeri village, Thandla Gram Panchayat, while their homes are in Ambi Gram Panchayat.
This administrative overlap has left them in limbo, with repeated complaints yielding neither permanent water systems nor summer tanker supply.
Villagers also allege irregularities in an MNREGA-approved public well from 2024, which remains incomplete and constructed away from inhabited areas.
They claim mismanagement and fund withdrawal have left them dependent on contaminated water.
Following media attention, Jobat MLA Sena Patel and state vice president of the Tribal Development Council Mahesh Patel intervened. Both demanded immediate administrative action.
Mahesh Patel said he would personally dig a borewell if the administration failed to act within two days. MLA Sena Patel emphasised the government’s duty to ensure no family drinks contaminated water.
The villagers have welcomed the intervention, expressing hope that clean drinking water will soon be available in Kharia Phalia, ending their reliance on unsafe pit water.
AalirajpurFollowing reports of the crisis, Aalirajpur Collector Neetu Mathur ordered an immediate inspection by officials of the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) and Janpad Panchayat Udaygarh.
According to the inspection report, the hamlet has five government hand pumps, of which two provide potable water, two yield saline water and one has dried up.
Officials said villagers do not use water from open pits or kutcha wells for drinking purposes. Residents demanded extension of pipelines from the functional hand pumps and installation of a new hand pump.
PHED officials assured that work to enhance the existing water supply system has been initiated and necessary steps will be taken to ensure adequate and safe drinking water for the villagers.
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