In This Bihar Village, Women Make 10 Trips A Day For Drinking Water

Shankar Oraon ties 20-litre jerrycans to his bicycle and sets off on a two-kilometer journey down to the riverbank. A lone hand pump, the only lifeline for Awarhiya village in the West Champaran district of Bihar, awaits Oraon. He pumps the handle up and down to lift the water from the well, fill jerrycans and returns home. Oraon makes at least 10 such trips every day to fetch water for his family.

"It is not a hobby, but rather a need. Life is unimaginable without water," says Oraon.

It is even more difficult for women like Sangeeta Devi, who have to walk all the way to the riverbank and back, carrying water on their heads.

While men leave for daily wage work, the responsibility of managing the household's water requirements lies on the women's shoulders. The women leave the house even before sunrise, walk to the riverbank, carry 20-litre water pots on their heads and return to the village. This routine continues from dawn to dusk.

"There is a lot of trouble. We walk 2 kilometers twice a day to fetch water for the family," says Sangeeta Devi.

This is the story of Awarhiya village, with about 80 houses and a population of around 500, does not have a single handpump or government water source. 

The villagers have been living in this dire situation for the past eight to nine years, said Shri Kishun, while returning from the riverbank.

"There is not a single hand pump in our village," he alleged.

The villagers allege that they have repeatedly requested the administration for handpumps and a piped water supply scheme, but no concrete solution has been found so far. In a protest, they also withheld votes during the recent Assembly Elections.

The administration states that Awarhiya village is an area of displaced families, and being adjacent to the Valmiki Tiger Reserve requires permission from the Forest Department for any development work. According to officials, a resettlement proposal was offered earlier, which the villagers did not accept.

(With inputs from Bindeshwar Kumar)