As youths migrate, Maharashtra village elders bear the brunt of deepening water crisis

Kolhapur: At 80, Bhiku Jadhav should not have to walk miles in punishing heat for water. But in Pangri village of Man tehsil, he drags his bicycle, no longer able to ride it, laden with containers for a daily trek to a distant handpump-operated borewell, embodying a growing crisis where the elderly are left to fend for basic survival.

“Even the borewell is running dry,” said Jadhav, one among many elderly residents now shouldering the burden as younger family members migrate in search of livelihoods.

In Vadgaon of the same tehsil, farmer Satyawan Ombase watches his sugar cane crop wither. With no water left for irrigation, his concerns point to an agrarian distress unfolding alongside the drinking water crisis.

This parched region of Satara, along with parts of neighbouring Sangli and Solapur districts, makes up the Man Desh region, a rain-shadow zone, receiving rainfall mainly during the retreating monsoon months of Sept and Oct, making it chronically drought-prone. This year, however, the strain is sharper and more visible.

Across Man Desh, the crisis is no longer just about scarcity, but about who is left behind to endure it. With fields drying up and incomes shrinking, the young leave. The elderly stay back, walking longer distances each day for dwindling water.

NCP functionary Anil Desai, who is a Satara zilla parishad member, alleged the gravity of the situation is being underplayed. “The actual number of villages, hamlets currently facing drinking water shortage is high, so is the number of water tankers. However, the officially declared numbers are fewer. This is to avoid bringing disrepute to rural development minister Jaykumar Gore, who represents Man-Khatav in the assembly,” he said.

TOI tried to reach Gore for the comment, but his phone remained switched off or engaged.

District collector Santosh Patil said he has directed the irrigation department to map water sources and ensure adequate drinking water supply for residents and cattle.

State data highlighted the fast-deteriorating situation. In May alone, an average of 116 villages and 485 hamlets are being added every week to the list of those facing drinking water scarcity. On average, 128 water tankers have been deployed in each of the three weeks so far in the month. At present, the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division leads in the number of water tankers with 244 deployed to meet the requirements of residents in 138 villages and 64 hamlets, followed by Nashik with 159 tankers for 156 villages and 444 hamlets.

Across Maharashtra, 633 villages and 1,652 hamlets currently face water shortages, with 706 tankers in operation. Though less severe than last year, when 1,196 villages and 3,484 hamlets were affected with 1,459 tankers deployed, the crisis remains acute on the ground.

Authorities have turned to acquiring wells and borewells, but reservoir levels are steadily falling. Nine large dams each in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Pune divisions have less live storage than they did at this time last year.

With forecasts warning of a likely El Niño impact reducing rainfall, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed dam authorities to stretch limited water resources till the end of Aug, prioritising drinking needs. But for many like Jadhav, the crisis is not measured only in data, but also in every exhausting step taken under the sun for a pot of water.