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<h2><a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/the-search-for-water/">The search for water</a></h2><p>In Satara district of Maharashtra, a film on the acute water crisis</p><h5>August 13, 2024 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/authors/achyutanand-dwivedi/">Achyutanand Dwivedi</a> and <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/authors/prabhat-sinha/">Prabhat Sinha</a></h5>

The search for water

<h2><a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/the-search-for-water/">Water: not any drop to drink</a></h2><p>As summer advances, there is fear and apprehension about the availability of water, especially in rural India. On March 22, World Water Day, PARI presents the many inequalities and injustices in access to clean drinking water – a basic right, but not for everyone</p><h5>March 22, 2024 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/authors/the-pari-team/">PARI Team</a></h5>

Water: not any drop to drink

<h2><a id="23726" linktype="page">Kolhapur district&#39;s water crisis</a></h2><p>In Maharashtra&#39;s Uchgaon village, groundwater levels have dropped sharply. A short film<br/></p><h5>July 7, 2023 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/authors/jaysing-chavan/">Jaysing Chavan</a></h5>

Kolhapur district's water crisis

<h2><a id="15047" linktype="page">Walking the thin line for water in Jhabua</a></h2><h5>July 21, 2021 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/authors/p-sainath/">P. Sainath</a></h5>

Walking the thin line for water in Jhabua

<h2><a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/fetching-water-with-dali-and-her-donkey/">Fetching water with Dali and her donkey</a></h2><p></p><p>Every day, Dali Bada, an Adivasi wage labourer in Rajasthan’s water-scarce Udaipur district, undertakes exhausting downhill and uphill treks with her donkey to bring water for her family</p><p></p><h5>November 20, 2019 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/sramana-sabnam-sramana-sabnam-is-a-postgraduate-st/">Sramana Sabnam</a></h5><p></p>

Fetching water with Dali and her donkey

<h2><a id="7037" linktype="page">‘Clean water is a luxury we cannot afford’</a></h2><p>A poor monsoon last year added to longer-term causes and dried up the water sources of Galtare early this year, forcing the women of this village in Palghar district to walk 25 kms a day to collect drinking water</p><p></p><h5>June 28, 2019 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/shraddha-agarwal">Shraddha Agarwal</a></h5><p></p>

‘Clean water is a luxury we cannot afford’

<h2><a id="6765" linktype="page">The old man and the lonely village</a></h2><p></p><p>S. Kandasamy is the solitary resident of Meenakshipuram in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi district – a village of 1,135 people just eight years ago. Everyone else left, driven by an acute water crisis</p><h5>June 26, 2019 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/kavitha-muralidharan">Kavitha Muralidharan</a></h5><p></p>

The old man and the lonely village

<h2><a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/prahlads-painful-choice-cows-or-guavas-">Prahlad&#39;s painful choice: cows or guavas?</a></h2><p>An escalating drought in Marathwada has left even relatively big farmers struggling to stay afloat, trying to buy water for crops and cattle, and giving up when the money runs out, as it has for many in Beed district<br/></p><h5>June 3, 2019 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/jaideep-hardikar">Jaideep Hardiker</a></h5>

Prahlad's painful choice: cows or guavas?

<h2><a id="5595" linktype="page">A flood of assessments, a drought of humanity</a></h2><p></p><p>Watch P. Sainath, Founder Editor, PARI, speak of a redefinition of drought that will hit farmers hard</p><h5>November 15, 2018 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/p-sainath">P. Sainath</a></h5><p></p>

A flood of assessments, a drought of humanity

<h2><a id="4852" linktype="page">Mandya&#39;s polls: farmers dry on water and hope</a></h2><p>With barely 24 hours to go for voting, farmers in Karnataka’s Mandya district might vote in large numbers, but they remain unconvinced by the promises made by major political parties</p><h5>May 11, 2018 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/vishaka-george">Vishaka George</a></h5>

Mandya's polls: farmers dry on water and hope

<h2><a id="4224" linktype="page">Marathwada&#39;s troubled waters harm your bones</a><p></p></h2><p></p><p>Recurring droughts in Marathwada have forced people in villages like Sawarkhed to drink fluoride-contaminated groundwater from borewells, which has inflicted debilitating fluorosis on many</p><h5>January 12, 2018 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/parth-mn">Parth M.N.</a></h5><h2></h2>

Marathwada's troubled waters harm your bones

<h2><a id="3692" linktype="page">Memories of water</a></h2><p></p><p>A steady decrease in rainfall, the switch to water-intensive cash crops and ever-increasing borewells have lowered the water table in Nagarur village of Anantapur, leaving farmers struggling to keep their crops alive</p><h5>August 24, 2017 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/sahith-m">Sahith M.</a> and <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/rahul-m">Rahul M.</a></h5>

Memories of water

<h2><a id="3415" linktype="page">Between life and death – a drought</a></h2><p></p><p>The farmers of Thayanur village, Tamil Nadu, are facing a huge crisis that transcends the drought – and as the crisis deepens across the Cauvery delta, some have died due to shock, many have committed suicide</p><h5>July 25, 2017 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/jaideep-hardikar">Jaideep Hardikar</a></h5>

Between life and death – a drought

<h2><a id="3334" linktype="page">At a &#39;100-day&#39; site, the elderly battle drought</a></h2><p></p><p>In Tamil Nadu&#39;s once-fertile Cauvery delta, a long and severe drought has wrecked farming. In many villages, the young have migrated for work and the elderly are doing backbreaking labour to earn some money</p><h5>July 20, 2017 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/jaideep-hardikar">Jaideep Hardikar</a></h5><h5><p></p></h5>

At a '100-day' site, the elderly battle drought

<h2><a id="3332" linktype="page">Distress and death in the delta</a></h2><p></p><p>A long drought in the Cauvery delta in Tamil Nadu has triggered a series of farmers&#39; deaths due to heart attack. The state denies agrarian distress is the cause, but many families have a different story to tell</p><h5>July 18, 2017 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/jaideep-hardikar">Jaideep Hardikar</a></h5><p></p>

Distress and death in the delta

<h2><a id="3121" linktype="page">‘We don’t get water, you do’</a></h2><p>Women and girls of the fishing community in Killabandar village, Palghar district, spend hours scraping the bottom of a well for drinking water, and resent that their region’s water is diverted to Mumbai city</p><h5>July 6, 2017 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/samyukta-shastri">Samyukta Shastri</a></h5><h2></h2>

‘We don’t get water, you do’

<h2><a id="3096" linktype="page">‘Even in the heat, there is some guilt if I drink the water…’</a></h2><p></p>Shalubai Chavan of Latur spends eight hours every day filling water for her family; others spend three times the rate for water than beer factories in Aurangabad. And usually, it is women who do this backbreaking task<br/><br/><h5>June 29, 2017 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/parth-mn">Parth M.N.</a></h5>

‘Even in the heat, there is some guilt if I drink the water…’

<h2><a id="2919" linktype="page">Wells of despair</a></h2><p></p><p>An unregulated borewell economy thrives through the dry summers in Osmanabad district of Marathwada, with agents and rig owners cashing in on the desperation of farmers to find water at any depth, any cost</p><h5>June 16, 2017 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/parth-mn">Parth M.N.</a></h5>

Wells of despair

<h2><a id="2697" linktype="page">Sinking wells, sunk in debt</a></h2><p>Every day, a half-complete well reminds Karbhari Jadhav of Ganori village of his loans, mortgaged land, debts, and labour, because pay-offs and visits to government offices for years did not bring any sanctioned funds</p><h5>April 26, 2017 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/parth-mn">Parth M.N.</a></h5><h2></h2>

Sinking wells, sunk in debt

<h2><a id="2558" linktype="page">Up against a stone wall – the Wadars at Vasai</a><p></p></h2><p></p><p>The Wadars of Maharashtra are stoneworkers who travel across India to restore monuments, many forced off their land by drought. At Vasai Fort north of Mumbai, they speak of their gruelling work and sense of despair</p><h5>February 20, 2017 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/samyukta-shastri">Samyukta Shastri</a></h5>

Up against a stone wall – the Wadars at Vasai

<h2><a id="1468" linktype="page">The sacred waters of a tanker</a></h2><p></p><p>Maharashtra’s water crisis continues even if media coverage of it dries up with the onset of the rains</p><h5>June 24, 2016 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/p-sainath">P. Sainath</a></h5><p></p>

The sacred waters of a tanker

<h2><a id="1286" linktype="page">The house that Phule&#39;s family built</a></h2><p></p><p>Katgun village in Satara district, where Jyotiba Phule’s ancestral home survives, is not driven by his thirst for knowledge, education and justice. It is driven by thirst</p><h5>June 7, 2016 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/p-sainath">P. Sainath</a></h5><p></p>

The house that Phule's family built

<h2><a id="1280" linktype="page">Source of the rivers, scams of the rulers</a></h2><p></p><p>Why rivers run dry while money floods the system in Maharashtra. A journey downstream the Krishna river</p><h5>May 25, 2016 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/p-sainath">P. Sainath</a></h5><h2></h2>

Source of the rivers, scams of the rulers

<h2><a id="1245" linktype="page">Drilling holes in the Thirst Economy</a></h2><p>As the borewells go deeper in Maharashtra, there have been worrying instances of ‘paleo-historic storages’ being breached</p><h5>April 7, 2016 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/p-sainath">P. Sainath</a></h5>

Drilling holes in the Thirst Economy

<h2><a id="1249" linktype="page">The deep water crisis</a></h2><p></p><p>Rig operators from Tamil Nadu are responding to a desperate demand from farmers across India, but with grave consequences for groundwater supplies</p><h5>April 7, 2016 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/p-sainath">P. Sainath</a></h5><p></p><h2></h2>

The deep water crisis

<h2><a id="1247" linktype="page">When water flows like money</a></h2><p>If drought is making many in Osmanabad struggle for survival, it is also boosting a 24-hour trade that thrives on scarcity</p><h5>April 7, 2016 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/p-sainath">P. Sainath</a></h5>

When water flows like money

<h2><a id="395" linktype="page">Tankers and the economy of thirst</a></h2><p></p><p>The water markets of Marathwada are booming, and in the town of Jalna alone, tanker owners can reach sales of close to Rs. 1 crore each day</p><h5>April 6, 2016 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/p-sainath">P. Sainath</a></h5><p></p><h2></h2>

Tankers and the economy of thirst

<h2><a id="631" linktype="page">How the other half dries</a></h2><p></p><p>Water-guzzling crops, water parks, luxury pools – they are all connected to Maharashtra’s drying lakes and rivers. Who owns or controls this resource will be even more crucial now</p><h5>December 20, 2014 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/p-sainath">P. Sainath</a></h5><a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/how-the-other-half-dries"></a><a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/how-the-other-half-dries"></a><p></p>

How the other half dries

A parched and thirsty countryside

پانی کا بحران اور پیاس بجھانے کی جدوجہد

होरपळलेली आणि तहानलेली गावं

<p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:400;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">At present, we can only accept donations in Indian rupees by Indian citizens. All donations made to the CounterMedia Trust are eligible for exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Here is a copy of our exemption certificate.</span></span></p>


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<p style="line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0pt;margin-top:0pt;" dir="ltr"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:400;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Younger, media-saturated generations are growing up knowing little about their country, but a lot about the elites of a few metros and towns. For a narrowly-owned, commercially-driven media, the dumbing down of a nation is part of standard operating procedure. The last available data of the Centre for Media Studies (CMS, Delhi) show us that reports from New Delhi account for 66 per cent of news on the front pages of major dailies. The CMS data also found that just about 0.24 per cent of front page news came out of rural India. The TV channels are not much better.</span></span></p><p style="line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0pt;margin-top:0pt;" dir="ltr"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:400;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">PARI exists to change that.</span></span></p><p style="line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0pt;margin-top:0pt;" dir="ltr"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:400;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">We are a non-profit organisation. We publish under creative commons, and do not charge readers a subscription fee or put-up advertisements. Nothing is behind a paywall and we are completely free-to-access by anyone. We guard our independence and receive no direct grants from governments and corporations, nor any funding that could dictate our content. So, we are dependent on volunteer labour, donations from individuals, foundations and institutions that see value in independent and free media.</span></span></p><p style="line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0pt;margin-top:0pt;" dir="ltr"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:400;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">PARI is changing the way Indian journalism reports and documents the rural.India is more than the elite of a few metros and towns. We report on rural lives and livelihoods, languages, communities, migrants and more. We need your help to pull off this most ambitious of Indian journalistic endeavours. The scale of this effort costs money. Donate generously - and spread the word about PARI.</span></span></p><p style="line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0pt;margin-top:0pt;" dir="ltr">&nbsp;</p>

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A parched and thirsty countryside

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