'No water, no vote': Villagers in MP's Dindori furious over severe water crisis

Dindori (Madhya Pradesh) [India], June 2 : Furious over the severe water crisis that the people of the village in Madhya Pradesh's Dindori have been facing for the last several years, villagers have decided to boycott Gram Panchayat elections until every household in the village gets a connection to tap drinking water.
criticising the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government in Madhya Pradesh of not resolving the water crisis, the people in Ghusiya village of Madhya Pradesh's Dindori said that they will not cast their vote in the upcoming Gram Panchayat elections.
Dindori, a predominantly tribal district in Madhya Pradesh has been facing a severe water crisis. The water crisis has worsened to such an extent that the villagers are putting their lives at risk to collect water. Villagers are being compelled to risk their lives by going deep down into the dry wells to fetch drinking water.
Expressing disappointment from Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government in Madhya Pradesh, the people in Ghusiya village of Madhya Pradesh's Dindori said that they will not cast their vote in the upcoming Gram Panchayat elections until provided with the water.

The ground zero reports of the Ghusiya panchayat reveal that the Nal Jal scheme is far away from becoming a reality here and people are struggling for every drop of water. Narmada River is around 3 km from the village.

Both men and women go deep down into wells every day risking their lives to collect water with the help of small bowls and buckets. The villagers of Ghusia Panchayat have now decided to boycott elections till the water issue is resolved.

Kusum, a villager of Baro tola in Ghusiya told ANI, "We have been facing a water crisis for a long time. The administration has been paying no heed to our crisis. Government employees and political leaders only come during elections. This time we have decided not to give votes until we have a proper water supply. Our only demand is water supply from the government."

Another villager Rudiya Bai said the wells are almost dry in the village.

"Be it day or night, we have to go down into the well to collect water. There are three wells in the village and all are mostly dry. No hand pumps have water. The situation remains like this for twelve months," Rudiya Bai told ANI.
It is pertinent to mention, Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in Madhya Pradesh runs Nal Jal scheme to supply tap drinking water to every household.
Notably, the two assembly constituencies in Dindori district are represented by Congress MLAs.