Daijiworld Media Network -Mumbai (SHP)

Mumbai, Jul 1: Two months ago, a video went viral which showed women rappelling down a 60-feet well for water. The women of Barde Chi Wadi, small tribal settlement, use frail ropes to descend into the well for water at least 15 times a day.

When the video went viral, the poor state of the women was known and water in specific requirement was promised along with, water storage units, pipeline and electric pumps. Once the media light faded the promises were forgotten.

Leela Pardhi and other women from 65-odd families would wake up at 2 am every night to avoid the rush during the day break. The rappelling involved no safety equipment, only a torchlight for visibility was carried. This act of rappelling is being carried since a long time now and the fact that there have been no casualty is the only source of comfort the women get.

On June 19, Leela’s rope snapped and tossed her 40-feet down into the bottom of the well. It took the villagers two long hours to pull her out, she ended up suffering a back injury because of the ordeal.

Barde Chi Wadi lies less than two km away from Vaitarna Dam, with a capacity of 330 million cubic metres. It supplies water to residents of Mumbai who stay in a radius of 120 km from the dam site.

After the incident, the tanker services were present for only a month at Barde Chi Wadi. The services were later stopped by Takedevgaon gram panchayat after villagers of other hamlets questioned the undue support given to Barde Chi Wadi.

Now with lack of water and rains, life for the women and people of this hamlet is tough, they continue to descend for water risking their lives. In a comment regarding their state of living, Leela Pradhi said, "All the people who came to our village after our video went viral promised to do so much, only to all disappear one by one. The government might say that it will sort out our problems now. I, however, will not believe a word. Mumbai survives because of the water it gets from our area but women here risk their lives everyday for something as basic as water."