How tap water is transforming women's lives in Bundelkhand

By Bharat Dogra 

Lakshmi Kushwaha lives in Bahera village in Niwari district of Madhya Pradesh. She belongs to a joint family of ten members. Until recently, she had to walk about one kilometre to a hand pump six times a day to meet her family's water needs. Her sister-in-law shared the burden in a similar way. In each trip, Lakshmi carried about 35 litres of water, balancing a pitcher on her head and a can in one hand.

Despite her willingness to work so hard, there was never any certainty of getting water immediately, especially during the summer and other periods of scarcity. She often had to wait for a long time at the hand pump. To avoid lengthy queues, she sometimes woke up at 3 a.m. to fetch water.

For Lakshmi, the most frustrating part was that the responsibility of arranging water was always on her mind, even when she was away from home. Often, regardless of how tired she was after returning, her first task was to leave again to fetch water.

The difficulties faced by Sudha Ahirwar, who lives in Churara village in the same district, were no less demanding. She belongs to a family of four and had no sister-in-law to share the work. She made seven trips a day to a hand pump located about one kilometre away, also carrying a pitcher on her head and a can in her hand.

In Sudha's case, there was an additional challenge. The nearest hand pump was located across a railway track. If a train happened to pass, she often had to wait a long time before crossing.

Crossing the railway track also required extra caution. She could not safely carry both the pitcher and the can while crossing. Since balancing a filled pitcher on the head is one of the most difficult parts of fetching water, she had to take the pitcher down before reaching the track, carry it across by hand, return for the can, and then carefully balance the pitcher on her head again before continuing her journey.

Like Lakshmi, Sudha also had to endure long waits at the hand pump. Sometimes the queue was so long that after placing her pitcher and can in line, she returned home to cook a vegetable before coming back to collect water. To avoid such delays, she too often began her day at around 3 a.m.

Soon after her marriage, Sudha realised that fetching water would become her principal daily responsibility. However, she had not performed this task before marriage. In her early days, the water-filled pitcher slipped from her head several times and broke, leading to criticism from family members who considered the skill essential for a married woman.

Given these exhausting, time-consuming and often frustrating experiences, it is easy to understand the immense relief felt by women like Lakshmi and Sudha when tap water recently reached their villages under the Jal Jeevan Mission. As Lakshmi remarked, "The village where we were married suddenly started appearing more beautiful and attractive."

Both women have used the time saved not only for their personal and household responsibilities but also for serving their communities. They are Jal Sahelis—women volunteers who promote water conservation and water security. This initiative of the Parmarth social organisation has received widespread recognition in recent years. Freed from the daily burden of fetching water, Jal Sahelis like Lakshmi and Sudha are now able to devote more time to community work. Sudha recently participated in a march from Bundelkhand to Delhi to spread awareness about the need to protect the Yamuna River.

While tap water has undoubtedly brought enormous relief to women such as Lakshmi and Sudha, it is also useful to recall the experiences of an earlier generation. In another village of the region, I spoke with a woman of about 75 who recalled life some four decades ago. She had lived in a joint family of 35 members, where many women shared the responsibility of fetching water from a well located about 300 metres away. She routinely carried four vessels in a single trip, balancing two pitchers on her head and carrying two more in her hands.

Interestingly, she did not describe this work as a burden but simply as a normal part of daily life. When asked whether she had ever broken a pitcher, she smiled while recalling that on one occasion a mischievous family member made her laugh while she was carrying water, causing one pitcher to fall and break.

Perhaps the difference was that the well usually had sufficient water, so there was no waiting or anxiety about availability. Moreover, the workload was shared among many women in the large joint family, and some water needs, such as bathing, were met at nearby wells or tanks rather than at home.

It would therefore be inaccurate to say that fetching water has always been an equally heavy burden throughout history. However, changing social and environmental conditions—including water scarcity, shrinking family sizes and increased pressure on groundwater sources—have made it an especially difficult responsibility for many rural women in recent decades. In villages where tap water has now reached most households, women are finally being relieved of this burden. Equally encouraging is the fact that many are using their newly available time to participate more actively in community development and environmental conservation.

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The writer is Honorary Convener of the Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include A Day in 2071, and Man over Machine