In a small tribal village nestled in the heart of Madhya Pradesh, one woman's bold stand against water scarcity has sparked a ripple effect of change — and brought the issue straight to the government’s doorstep. Laxmi Soni, a resident of Devra village in Dindori district, made headlines when she left her husband, Jitendra Soni, and returned to her parental home with their children, citing the unbearable water crisis as the reason. Her move, driven by frustration and a desire for a better future for her children, has now prompted urgent administrative action. “My wife left me because there’s no water in the village,” Jitendra told reporters at the weekly Jansunwai (public grievance redressal meeting) held by the district administration. “She said there’s no future here. I tried to stop her, told her our children’s education would suffer — but she didn’t listen.”Devra village, just 3 km from the district headquarters and home to nearly 2,500 people, has long been dependent on a single handpump.
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The water level has plummeted drastically, leading to hours-long queues and frequent scuffles over every drop. The situation, according to villagers, has reached a breaking point. “I am an unemployed labourer,” said Jitendra. “There’s no way I can fix this alone. Many families have silently left the village out of desperation.” Moved by the appeal, Dindori Collector swiftly directed the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department to resolve the issue. PHE official Afzal Amanullah confirmed that work is underway to connect Devra’s pipeline to an overhead water tank located in neighbouring Hans Nagar. “The borewell under the Nal-Jal scheme has dried up. The overhead tank in Hans Nagar, built under the Jal Jeevan Mission, will now be connected to Devra’s water lines,” Amanullah stated. “We’ve already begun the work. By Wednesday, the water supply should improve significantly.” Efforts are also being made to extend water lines to neighbouring hamlets such as Saket Nagar and Hans Nagar to ensure a consistent and equitable water supply.