Dry Godavari now a riverbed of illegally dug borewells

Samvatsar (Ahmednagar): People in Samvatsar and surrounding drought-hit villages in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar have been forced to illegally dig wells in the dry Godavari riverbed for water. Officials say rivers are the state government’s property that makes well digging in the riverbed illegal. The river has water only for a couple of months during the monsoon season.
Once the Godavari dries up, villagers start digging temporary wells. Residents say it is inexpensive to dig wells in soft riverbed. A dozen wells have been dug in the river’s stretch passing through Samvatsar and more are coming up. Pipelines criss-cross the riverbed as residents use them for their cattle and sugarcane crop.
“Our crops are dying and so are the cattle. We have dug hundreds of bore wells inside our village, but there is no water,’’ said Sopan Chavan, a resident. “We are digging wells in the Godavari because there is no other option. Nobody pays any attention to our needs, so we have found our own way to get water.’’
Chavan pumps water for his sugarcane crop, which dominates the village’s economy and politics. Most villages in Ahmednagar face acute water scarcity, but it has had little impact on 22 sugar mills that have crushed sugarcane this year. The high water-consuming crop is ever popular among farmers and politicians.
Another resident, Rashid Tamboli, said some officials visited the village a few days back and told them well-digging in the riverbed is illegal. “But the entire village ganged up and demanded that the government first make water available and then stop us from digging wells.’’ Vimlabai Wandle said the water was not potable. “It is not even safe for cattle, but it is better that they die drinking some water instead of dying without it,’’ The water from the river wells stinks.
“At least there is some water and that is enough for us. Nobody would like to dig the riverbed, but the drought is forcing us to,” said farmer Vitthal Parmeshwar. Residents in nearby Lasur have built a well with concrete wall in the Shivna riverbed. Residents use a dry stretch of the river to go to nearby villages. “There is regular traffic across the riverbed now and we have a huge ground to play in it,” said Tushar Khurasane, 13. But he wants to see the river with water. “Rivers have fish. The water is blue and there are birds. I have seen such rivers in my textbook.’’