MP villagers brave crocodiles to fetch water
: Residents from three villages in Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur Kalan district are braving attacks from crocodiles to collect drinking water from Parbati river, one of the three tributaries of Chambal river.
Armed with sticks in one hand and utensil in the other, villagers from Icchana Khedi, Malarna and Dalarna Kalan don’t have access to potable water and have to travel to the river teeming with crocodiles every day.
First, they shoo away the creatures, and then quickly go down to collect the water.
The danger is palpable, which is why the forest department has issued instructions not to go anywhere near 100m of the river, but for those in need of water to drink, the warning is one they can easily disobey.
“We don’t have any option to get potable water as the groundwater in the village’s borewell is very salty,” said villager Ramawtar Gurjar.
Women, especially, are in danger since it is they who come in the line of attack by going inside the river to collect the water.
“The district administration is waiting for our deaths to come up with some solution. Many times, we wait for hours while the crocodiles are being shooed away. Forest department officials have asked us not to take water from the river, but what other option do we have,” asked 52-year-old Geeta Gurjar.