Brides Say No To Men In A Harda Village Of Madhya Pradesh As Water Scarcity Haunts, Promises Fail
The village once known as water-sufficient is today in the throes of scarcity. Officials and village head promise action but villagers have lost all hope
Published : April 22, 2025 at 1:23 PM IST
By Sunil Kushwaha
Harda : Summer in Bhirangi Tola village of Mandla panchayat, 20 kilometers from Harda district headquarters in Madhya Pradesh, is not only driving people out of the village but spelling doom for the men who wish to get married. Due to the gravity of the situation, a village that was populated with 300 people a few years back today has only 120 left. And those staying put are being denied brides for their sons.
Potable water has turned a mirage in the village as pleas of villagers fall on deaf ears and and assurances of officials remain limited to papers. Three years ago, a pipeline was laid in the village under the Nal Jal Yojana, which remains non-functional till date. "Not a single drop has dripped from the pipes. These works in the name of development are just an eye-wash," alleged villagers.
If the residents are to be believed, the village was water-sufficient 10 years back. "We never faced any problem of water scarcity. It was only after residents took up boring wells, each on their field, the problem of water scarcity started gradually. Today the situation is dire," another villager stated.
People, especially women walking long distances to fetch water is a common scene in the village. "Water level has gone down so much that people have lost all hopes and started migrating. We are craving for every drop of water. At times we carry water on our bikes while our women trek all the way up to the water source. Migration seems to the only option now," they said in a despondent tone.
Water scarcity has reached an alarming situation as the bore wells have also run dry.
From a population of 300, the village hardly has 120 people left in the village. "The exodus is continuing. More grave is the situation when our boys are denied brides. The girls we finalise for the wedding, back out because of water shortage. Their parents too feel the girls will be forced to fetch water from far off places. So the only option to have a family is to move out to a place where we get water," said villagers.
One of them pitched in to say that about 30-40 boys in the village are not getting brides because girls are refusing proposals from the village outright.
Lalit Gurjar, a resident of Bhirangi Tola village, said, "Due to lack of water in the village, people from our caste in other villages refused to give me their daughter. I had to marry a girl from another clan who is now hell bent on leaving the village. She wants to either go away to her parents place or shift with me to any place that has sufficient water."
Lalit's wife Lakshmi was almost on the verge of crying pitched in, "It is very difficult to stay here. We literally cry for water. Otherwise I had no reason to think about leaving the village."
Sarpanch Vinay Kumar Manjhi said that under the Nal Jal Yojana, water pipelines were laid in the village at the cost of Rs 60 lakh which have failed. This has led to large scale migration. "If the PHE department moves away from there, I am ready to do the needful so that people will get water in 10 days," he promised.
On being asked Congress MLA Dr. RK Dogne said, "I am surprised that the water problem in the Panchayat is continuing since years. I had sanctioned water tankers for the Panchayat from the MLA fund. But if the problem is so bad, I will look into the matter and solve the problem in three days."
On the other hand PHE department official Pawansut Gupta said 20 to 25 families only live in the village for which a hand pump has been installed. "The work of Nal Jal Yojana had started but due to lack of sufficient water there, the scheme has been revised so that the Bhirangi village can be connected to Mandla. I have just spoken to the village head and was assured that water is available on a farmer's field close to the village. By connecting the pipeline from there, water will be made available to the villagers in two days," he assured.
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