Nashik: Women walk for 2 kms in scorching heat for drinking water, climb down wells

"I am currently in Class 10 and I have to walk two kilometers in the hot sun every day with pots on our heads for drinking water. There is no time to study. Every summer we have to struggle like this," Priya, a villager, said.

Nashik:With the onset of summer, several villages in Maharashtra's Nashik district under Trimbakeshwar taluka, have started facing water scarcity. As per information, due to the drying up of wells and other sources of water in March and April, women in villages are risking their lives for water. An especially horrific situation has emerged in Rohile village, where women are learned to be covering a distance of two km and descend into a well in order to procure water.

As per information, there also have been incidents of women accidentally falling into the wells and sustaining injuries. The district authorities, however, said that the situation this year is better than last year.

Alka Ahirrao, Deputy Engineer, Irrigation Department, said "We get demand from the collector's office and the quantity of water is fixed for distribution for drinking and other purposes. There will be no water shortage till next June." Ahirrao also stated that arrangements were being made for tankers were being made to bring an adequate supply of water.

The villagers, however, say that they are facing struggles to fetch water. "I am currently in Class 10 and have to walk two kilometers in the hot sun every day with pots on our heads for drinking water. There is no time to study. Every summer we have to struggle like this," Priya, a villager, said.