With the onset of summer, the water crisis has returned to haunt the people of Betul district in Madhya Pradesh. The situation has worsened as the region has received scanty rainfall so far. The repercussions are so grave that the adolescent girls residing in the region are forced to miss out on school to fetch water for their families.
"We are not able to attend schools as most of our day goes in carrying water from miles. Many girls in the village have already left school because of water scarcity. We are forced to walk at least 3 kms every day at 4 am in the morning to fetch water from the nearby well. Also, there is no electricity in our area which creates obstructions for us to prepare for the exams," said Seema Vij, a teenage girl from Betul district.
Another local, Sharman, also expressed frustration over the prolonged water crisis which has gripped the region from the last several decades." We are forced to drink water from the sources which are not clean. The water in the well is contaminated. The government must step up its work to resolve the ongoing crisis."
The locals also said that they notified the local administration about the same, only for their pleas to fall on deaf ears.
Besides Betul, with mercury on the rise across the nation, residents of Mehboob Nagar are also facing hardships due to water shortage in the area. The crisis has also returned to haunt the people of Latur. People's only source of water is a tanker which reaches them, but not so frequently.
( With inputs from ANI )