Girls ditch grooms in parched Gujarat villages
Water
crisis in some Gujarat villages has effectively extended the
bachelorhood of many bachelors with parents of to-be brides calling off
engagements.
RELATED
RAJKOT:
They were the most eligible bachelors in their village. Then drought
struck Dedan village near Amreli and the same men suddenly turned unfit
for marriage. The water crisis here has effectively extended their bachelorhood.
Parents of to-be brides have called off engagements of at least four youths in this village of around 12,000 in the past couple of months. The reason is they don't want their daughters to walk a minimum of 5 km daily just to fetch drinking water for their families.
This only shows how severe the water crisis has become in Saurashtra, and Amreli is at the forefront in the battle for survival. The district received just 56% of its average annual rainfall in 2012, as against 93% in 2011. While Amreli town itself gets drinking water every 12 days that too in some areas only, other towns and villages are witnessing fierce clashes between people and local civic authorities.
"As soon as the girl's parents got to know about the trek for water, they cancelled the engagements," said a family member of 25-year-old Yunus Gori in Dedan. He was set to marry a girl from Palitana.
Sameer Gori, 28, a shopkeeper in Dedan too is worried after his engagement to a Rajkot girl broke on the same grounds. While the entire Amreli district is water-starved, Dedan's problem is more acute as the common well, the only source of drinking water, has dried up. The village is at the mercy of erratic and expensive water tankers. "Nobody wants to get their daughters married in our village and the water situation is only getting worse," admits sarpanch Nathu Rathod. "We have repeatedly requested the government to dig a borewell or supply tankers regularly, but to no avail."
Women wake at 5am just to fetch water. "We are forced to shell out around Rs100 for a 500-litre tanker," says Sultan Khan, a villager. Some have unwillingly moved out for the sake of their boys' future. "We made all efforts to get our son married for three years. But the first question the girls' parents ask is about the water situation," says Valji Patel (name changed), who has shifted to Surat.
Parents of to-be brides have called off engagements of at least four youths in this village of around 12,000 in the past couple of months. The reason is they don't want their daughters to walk a minimum of 5 km daily just to fetch drinking water for their families.
This only shows how severe the water crisis has become in Saurashtra, and Amreli is at the forefront in the battle for survival. The district received just 56% of its average annual rainfall in 2012, as against 93% in 2011. While Amreli town itself gets drinking water every 12 days that too in some areas only, other towns and villages are witnessing fierce clashes between people and local civic authorities.
"As soon as the girl's parents got to know about the trek for water, they cancelled the engagements," said a family member of 25-year-old Yunus Gori in Dedan. He was set to marry a girl from Palitana.
Sameer Gori, 28, a shopkeeper in Dedan too is worried after his engagement to a Rajkot girl broke on the same grounds. While the entire Amreli district is water-starved, Dedan's problem is more acute as the common well, the only source of drinking water, has dried up. The village is at the mercy of erratic and expensive water tankers. "Nobody wants to get their daughters married in our village and the water situation is only getting worse," admits sarpanch Nathu Rathod. "We have repeatedly requested the government to dig a borewell or supply tankers regularly, but to no avail."
Women wake at 5am just to fetch water. "We are forced to shell out around Rs100 for a 500-litre tanker," says Sultan Khan, a villager. Some have unwillingly moved out for the sake of their boys' future. "We made all efforts to get our son married for three years. But the first question the girls' parents ask is about the water situation," says Valji Patel (name changed), who has shifted to Surat.
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