Tribal Dindori turns water warrior, ranks 2nd in India

Jabalpur: Fragile saplings, braced by bamboo stakes and drip-fed by inverted plastic bottles, dot barren fields across Singpur village’s sun-baked terrain in tribal-majority Dindori district of Madhya Pradesh. Further out, a newly excavated retention pond, its banks heavily fortified with stone pitching, sits ready to capture and hold seasonal runoff.

About 470km east of Bhopal, the district has surged to second place nationally and first in MP under Jal Sanchay Bhagidari — a grassroots water conservation campaign — that turned one of the state’s poorest and driest belts into a model of community-led revival.

At the heart of Singpur, new water infrastructure meets daily pastoral life. A brightly painted concrete trough provides a dedicated watering hole for parched cattle and buffalo. While a young herdsman manages the livestock with a wooden staff, a woman works a nearby hand pump under an ageing banyan tree, filling stacked stainless steel pots for her household.

The scene is stark but purposeful. A countryside reclaiming the land.

“There’s water scarcity in our village, so we have built soak pits to divert rainwater from rooftops as well as wastewater from bathrooms. This will help improve groundwater recharge and reduce water shortage,” said villager Khemkaran Vishwakarma.

Resource-starved and vulnerable to erratic monsoons, Dindori tapped into tribal traditions rooted in coexistence with forests, streams and soil moisture. What began as a govt push swelled into a people’s movement powered by sweat, shovels and shared resolve.

District administration data shows nearly 2.98 lakh water conservation structures were built under the campaign — more than 41,000 recharge pits, close to 10,000 farm ponds, over 6,000 check dams, along with rooftop rainwater harvesting systems, dugwell recharge units and gully plugs spread across villages. Goal was simple: trap every possible drop before it disappeared into cracked earth.

“Earlier, my household wastewater used to spill outside, creating filth and unhygienic conditions. Now, with support from govt, a soak pit has been constructed. I channel all kitchen and household wastewater into it. This has helped in two ways — there is no stagnant dirty water outside the house anymore, and groundwater is getting recharged,” said Gomti Bai, a villager.

Awareness campaigns rippled through jal chaupals, kalash rallies and street plays. Slogans flowed across walls and village squares: “Jal hai to kal hai, jal bachayenge, bhavishya bachayenge (If there is water, there is a tomorrow. Save water, secure future)” and “Har boond keemti hai, Dindori ki jal kranti hai (Every drop is precious, this is Dindori’s water revolution)”.

Collector Anju Pawan Bhadauria said Dindori’s soil has weak water retention capacity, forcing many farmers to depend on a single crop annually. But the campaign yielded gains. Under “Ek Bagiya Maa Ke Naam” initiative, around 3,500 fruit-bearing saplings were planted.

As heatwaves scorch large swathes of central India and reservoirs shrink, Dindori offers a different picture: communities learning that in a warming world, every saved drop can keep hope from evaporating.