Battling water crisis, men remain unmarried in parched UP village

Gopipur village in Uttar Pradesh's Chitrakoot district has been battling with acute water shortage for decades. With villagers having to travel long distances to just get their daily water supply, people are reluctant to get their daughters married into the village, As a result, dozens of men from the village remain bachelors.

Chitrakoot (Uttar Pradesh): With severe water crisis plaguing their lives for several decades, men in a small village in the parched Bundelkhand region have another problem - no one wants to marry their daughters to them.

Gopipur, a majority tribal village in Uttar Pradesh's Chitrakoot district, is one of the worst-affected villages in the parched Bundelkhand region. Villagers have to walk for long distances under the scorching sun just to get their daily supply of water.

Small kids can be seen risking their lives as they cross railway tracks, just to get their pots of water.

Considering the acute water shortage in the region, the district administration had arranged for water tankers for the villages here. However, with water being distributed from the tankers on a first-come-first-serve basis, villagers often forget social distancing norms in the rush to get water. Each family gets a limited amount of 60 litres from each tanker.

As a result, people are reluctant to get their daughters married to men from the village. "Many men are not getting married. Due to the water crisis, people do not want to get their daughters married here. There are at least 40-50 unmarried men in the village," said Bodi Lal, a resident of Gopipur, who himself remains unmarried.

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The women who do get married into the village, have to hide their heads in shame.

"We have to walk over a kilometre to get water from a well. There is a solar pump installed, but it gets too crowded and things turn nasty. I am from a good family. If people see me struggling for water like this, I'll die of shame," said a woman, who had hidden her face under a veil.

Meanwhile, the local authorities say that they are aware of the severe water crisis in the region and are working towards finding solutions.

"I am aware of the situation. A report on the issue is awaited. Wherever possible we will dig bores, and try to carry out repairs in other places. We are committed to finding solutions to the water crisis in the area," said Manikpur Block Development Officer Rajesh Nayak.

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