Maharashtra: How fetching water is holding back India's women

Indian women and girls nearly always collect water for families - leaving them no time to work.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatchHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUK General ElectionUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersHow fetching water is holding back India's women15 hours agoBy Anagha Pathak, BBC MarathiShareBBC/MANGESH SONAWANESunita Bhurbade spends up to five hours a day collecting drinking water for her familyFetching drinking water is a gruelling daily routine for millions of women in India.

Even without enduring the scorching summer months or the freezing winters, they walk for miles every day, balancing plastic or earthen pots on their heads and carrying buckets in their hands to manage the household water stock.

“It’s a daily struggle. I get so tired that I collapse when I’m done,” says Sunita Bhurbade from Tringalwadi, a tribal village 180km (112 miles) from India’s financial hub, Mumbai.

Ms Bhurbade spends four-to-five hours every day travelling back and forth from her nearest reliable water source - a dry lake - to fill her pots. The water is dirty and she has to dig holes on the side for the water to filter through naturally and seep in.

“For four-to-five months every year, women have no option but to fetch water from long distances because nearby wells and water sources dry up,” she says. Ironically, her village receives one of the heaviest rainfalls in the region.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2e47zgz2v7o

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