Women from Madhya Pradesh village cut hill to resolve water crisis
About 250 women from the Angrotha village in Madhya Pradesh dug up a nearby hill for a half a kilometre stretch to direct a waterway into a pond in the village.
Madhya Pradesh has been witnessing a severe water crisis, despite government efforts and crores on spent on revival of water bodies.
In Angrotha village in the state, residents had been struggling with water scarcity for a long time. So, taking things into their own hands, about 250 women from the village have been digging a hill for 18 months to create a water path leading into a pond in the village.
Speaking to ANI, one of the women involved in the initiative, Babita Rajput said, "We have been working for over 18 months to channel water into the village, the water used to freely flow in the forest and thus could not be used.”
The women in the village formed a group, and decided to cut the hill to a length of about 0.5 kilometres, and make way for the water to fall into a pond in the village, she further added.
Women in Angrotha cut a hill to divert water into a pond into the village (Image: ANI/Twitter)
“About 250 women dug the way for water to flow into the pond in our village. It took us about 18 months to complete this work," said Vivitabai Adivasi, who was also involved in the water diversion process.
The primary aim of the activity was to aid farming activities and also help livestock, besides helping the water crisis in the village.
Another villager, Ram Ratan Singh Rajput said, “For the past 18 months, women in the village have decided to provide water to Angrotha. They have cut a hill and made a waterway. The women are also working on removing several stones that are present in the path of the water flow, as reported by Business World.
The story is similar to that of Laungi Bhuiyan, a 70-year-old man from Bihar, carved out a three-kilometre lake in Gaya over a period of 30 years. Recently, Indian billionaire and CEO of Mahindra Group, Anand Mahindra gifted a tractor to the Laungi, recognising his efforts.
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Edited by Rekha Balakrishnan