Scarcity of water in the extreme eastern part of Kutch where there has been no rainfall is a common occurrence and in fact a way of life. The average rainfall deficit for the district was about 74 percent and in some districts (such as Bhachau) it is as high as 97 percent.
The families in Dungranivnadh village in Bhachau, had to take water from a well which was 75 years old. It was in dilapidated condition and it was increasingly difficult to take water from this well. It was a strenuous affair, as it was precarious with no support and required the women of the village to make multiple visits just to collect enough drinking water from this well. Even the cattle trough was broken because of which cattle were unable to drink water from it and had to be taken long distances to find a watering body for them.
It was the women of the village who had learnt of Samerth’s work on water structure conservation and building of water bodies and requested Samerth to repair the well as this was the lifeline for 25 families and 200 cattle.
Samerth’s team of experts helped in the revival of three dug wells near Dungranivandh at Dholavira village which became a source of water for the livestock. The wells were repaired by cleaning the silt from them, a boundary wall was erected, steps and pillars were made to reinforce the structure and even a pulley was installed for fetching the water.
This provided major relief to the community as they have started taking water for their livestock from there. The families’ living nearby this area now have drinking water from these wells. The families have easy access to water in a drought situation which was one of the worst this year in the last 30 years. This was a relief for all the people as getting water for the day was the biggest change in the given situation where the rainfall is less than 1 inch.
