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By Dipaneeta Das: The scorching heatwave has taken a toll on the women of Sahapur village in West Bengal, who have been grappling with a severe water shortage for the past 10 days. In view of this, protests are increasing across the state.
As many as 50 women took to the streets on Tuesday with empty buckets and utensils to demonstrate against the severe crisis of drinking water.
‘THEY ONLY REMEMBER US DURING VOTE’
Saraswati Singha, one of the protestors, expressed her frustration, saying, “There is no clean drinking water source. We are struggling daily. There are no tube wells or wells for us.”
Nearly 50 families in the village have to walk miles to get polluted river water, which they boil to drink. “The residents, including my family, are facing an acute water crisis. The situation is getting dire by the day,” said another resident Shefali Mondal.
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“Despite repeated appeals, there was no response from the panchayet, forcing us to demonstrate,” Saraswati said, warning that this will impact upcoming local body elections in the state.
“No one will vote in the panchayat elections until this water problem is solved,” she added.
Women from 50 households in the village had earlier sought the help of the Sahapur village chief to help resolve the grating issue. “Pradhan and the local authorities promised us that they will visit our village and help us resolve the matter,” Sinha revealed.
“They only remember us during the vote. The administration does not care after the elections,” Shefali claimed. The villagers, she said, have to drink water from the dirty Mahananda River adjacent to the village.
BLAME GAME IN THE AREA
Meanwhile, an administration blame game began in the area. BJP leader and former head of the Gram Panchayat Ukil Mondal blamed the current Trinamool-run Sahapur Gram Panchayat for all the incidents. However, current Pradhan Anik Ghosh has refused to comment on the matter.
Trinamool state committee general secretary Krishnandu Narayan Chowdhury argued that due to dry weather, the groundwater level has “dried up.”
He added, “Deep tube wells and wells are damaged due to extreme heat. Discussion with the PHE office is being done to see how to solve the problem.’
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Similar protests were seen in Wasseypur, Dhanbad, where more than 100 women residents of different localities protested against the lack of drinking water supply during Ramadan. The crisis has also affected Siliguri locals, who have been left in distress due to the drinking water shortage.
Although the local government bodies are supplying drinking water in the city, the crisis remains unresolved, fueling ongoing protests.
CLIMATE STRESS
The climate stress experienced by Indian delta dwellers has pushed them to the brink, with ponds previously used for drinking water, washing clothes, and irrigation now drying up. While nature-based solutions hold promise, caution is advised.
ALSO READ | Will oceans provide a viable solution to global water crisis?
(with inputs from Milton Paul)
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