Video: Maharashtra villagers walk 3 km, climb down dry wells to fetch muddy water

A man from Nashik's Chichlekhaire village collects dirty water from the bottom of a dry well. (Image credit: ANI)

Amid the unrelenting heat and water scarcity in Maharashtra, villagers in Nashik have had to walk for 3 km carrying vessels to fetch water from wells that have dried up leaving only muddy puddles at the bottom.

Without any other source of water available, the villagers have been climbing down the wells to collect the dirty water, and "filter" it using a cloth as a sieve before walking back home.

Villagers "filter" water collected from the dry wells before carrying it home. (Image credit: ANI)

The situation in Chichlekhaire village in Igatpuri, Nashik, was revealed by a video shared by news agency ANI.

#WATCH| Amid an acute water crisis at a village in Maharashtra's Nashik, a man is forced to fetch muddy water by going down into a deep well, where the water level has plummeted to below the base of the well. Women travel arduous 3 km-long treks to fetch water for the family. pic.twitter.com/ABXetKENfZ

— ANI (@ANI) June 4, 2022

“It has been a month, there is no water in our village. We fetch water from far away places. A man goes down deep into a well that is almost dry and left with muddy water at the base. We demand from the government to provide us potable water,” villager Chhaya Shende told ANI.

“The women of our village have to walk 3 km every day to fetch water. We do not have water in our village. It has become very difficult for us to even feed cattle. We demand from the government to resolve the water crisis as soon as possible,” said another villager Kashinath Shende.

It is not just Chichlekhaire but several other villages in Maharashtra have been facing acute water shortage.

In a similar incident, villagers in Madhya Pradesh have been climbing down wells with their bare hands to collect water from the puddles at the bottom. Faced with acute water shortage, the villagers have decided to boycott the upcoming gram panchayat elections unless the government ensures proper water supply.

(With inputs from ANI)