Repeatedly on your head from that source of water to the village, which is almost a kilometre from here. From the hot desert. To the cold mountains. And dry, arid plains. Its backbreaking. I want to find out, when will the walk be over . When will water come home . Ah ha in 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a promise. To bring water through taps to each home in every village by 202a. He said it will ease womens daily lives. Ive set out on a journey across the country to check out the governments claims. These are the dry, arid plains of central india. They used to be green, but after recurring droughts, this is the kind of water some villages are left with. Buffaloes bathe here, and some women too. Some take this water for washing and cleaning. Managing the familys water needs is womens work here. There arent many choices. These villages are infamous for their water crisis. Its a hard life that no woman would choose. Families dont want to marry their daughters into these villages, and when they do, these men tell me the women want to leave. Its a growing list of single men, getting older, looking for brides. I ask, how many are unmarried here . Three are nudged to stand up. One is called a reject. Used to the jibe, he smiles. Translation l was 22 when the first Marriage Proposal came in. In total, five families came to meet my parents. But when they got to know of the water crisis here, they left. I ask how they would convince the prospective brides families. Perhaps offer to help their daughters fetch water . Translation no, i have other work, and she has different work. She has to cook food, clean the house. I have to tend to the animals, farm and travel to attend social gatherings. So its down to vimal� s mother. She fetches water, washes his clothes and cooks for him. There are three other sons, but they dont live here. The village didnt have much work, so they moved out and found brides too. She says shes never benefited from being the mother of sons. Sons who would bring brides that is other women to share her water burden with. The terrain is rocky, and the distance is long, so its very hard to carry pots of water repeatedly on your head from that source of water to the village, which is almost a kilometre from here. As the Morning Blends into afternoon and it gets hotter, the task of ferrying water also becomes harder. To help women, the Village Council arranges Water Tankers in summer. Each woman gets five buckets full five buckets for the whole household. Coloured in the colour of impure water. Even this support is not available in neighbouring villages. The women are angry, yet resigned to their destiny. Translation drink the water ive just drawn, and you will get a taste of what we drink every day. Translation there was a hand pump outside my home in my maternal village. But now i have to drink this dirt. If i knew how bad things were, i wouldnt have agreed to the marriage. But are women asked about their choice at the time of marriage . I asked gaura devi. Translation they didnt ask me, i dont know about others. Gaura devi was 15 years old when she was married. She has spent the last ten years around this well. In summer, the water level recedes. Then they have to fill waterfrom puddles. Translation we dig puddles, climb into them and fill water in small pots. Then we let it stand for a couple of hours, and after the dirt settles, we use it. What can we do . So we are enduring it. Wherever there is water here, it stinks. This villager explains that the water in which the buffaloes are bathing seeps in, polluting the water in the well. But its all they have. Translation this is the only source of Drinking Water for the village. It is used to bathe and wash clothes too. If we dig deep for hand pumps, we get hard water, and it cant even get soap out of clothes. The government tap water scheme, the Jaljeevan Mission, is looking for solutions to find clean water and then supply it directly to homes. It believes rivers are the answer. This is such a lovely version of the yamuna. Back in my city, delhi, where i grew up, its dirty, its shallow, its polluted. But here its lush, its 200 meters wide. And this is the peak of summer. When it rains after monsoons, it will get even more lush, deep. And this river is now going to be used to service this dry, arid, rocky region of what is called bundelkhand, where ground water has dried up. Whatever is there is not fit for drinking. The rains are not regular. Every other year is declared a drought. So the government plans to use Surface Water from river yamuna to take it to individual houses via Tap Water Connections in 400 villages in this area. Its a solution tried by previous governments, too. Then, the rivers water wasnt enough. It dried up, and the crisis swelled again. How will this time be any different . The engineer struggles to explain. Translation we plan to use Surface Water. We have assessed that if we take a certain amount of water, it will not lead to scarcity. If there wasnt enough water in the yamuna river, the scheme wouldnt have been sanctioned. The deadline is looming large, and the project is lagging behind in central india. Would the experience be any different in the mountains in the north . 13,700 feet above sea level, in the dramatic cliffs of the himalayas. Its popular amongst tourists. Not many realise this is a desert over a mountain. In this cold desert of ladakh, as you go up, because of the high altitude, Oxygen Levels come down, so its harder to breathe. And theres almost no vegetation around. All you can see are these dry, lifeless mountains. I reach a small, remote village and find it buzzing. A water tanker has arrived. There are no taps at homes here, so Everyone Wants to fill up. I volunteer to help, and lamo readily agrees. But its hard to keep pace ifall behind. Translation i keep waterfor drinking here and for Washing Utensils here. But the water from the tanker is often not enough. Then lamo has to make trips to the glacial stream. Its a long trek. I ask lamos husband why we bypassed lower streams. He explains to me that they were dirtier and at the top is the cleanest source. In winter, all this is even harder. Translation temperatures fall so low that water freezes when left outside, so we fill only as much as we need. If we need 20 litres, we fill 20 litres. So do you not store water at all . If we store, then we have to put blankets and thermal coal around the water tank. Even then, ice forms overnight, and we have to take a clean wooden stick in the morning to break it. Running water would be the best solution. Lamo and sanam also got a tap installed under the new government scheme. Its thermal coated to prevent freezing. But water is yet to arrive. Traditionally, these Glacial Springs had enough water to service the Drinking Water needs of this entire region. But over the decades, as the Himalayan Ice has receded, these springs have also shrunk, and this region has had to move its dependence from springs and Surface Water to underground water. Ladakh is sparsely populated. It has enough underground water for now. But as more tourists head here, this could change soon. And water could deplete, just like the rest of the country. At this moment, the focus is to supply whats available to homes here. A maze of pipelines is being laid to prevent freezing. The digging is much deeper than on the plains. 66 inch five and a half feet deep, im told. Its the same for water tanks. Wow translation ladakh| is not like plains where there are overhead tanks from where water is distributed to homes in the village. Here, tanks are built underground to prevent water from freezing. We are using solar panels extensively, because out of 365 days, ladakh has 320 sunny days. This will reduce operation and maintenance cost. After a year of preparation, water supply is being tested in the village today. Hello. Apart from a few homes, taps remain dry. The local engineer explains that a pipe burst, causing leakage. Mistakes they can ill afford. Fear of freezing and pipes bursting in winter is widespread. So much so that a neighbouring village got taps but refused water supply. It was turned on only in summer. Spalzess and her sisters life is much easier now. After a month of regular water supply, the scheme has finally won their trust. Translation initially, we werent sure if water supply would work. I now the engineer has explained that they have made a bed at the end of the supply line. This means extra water would run off there and pipe will not burst. A few weeks later, lamos village finally got tap water. But will the supply last in the freezing winters . And finally to indias west, the thar desert. Barren landscape dotted with women in bright colours. Its like the scenery changes, the walk to water remains. In scorching heat, often barefoot. Many times in a day, day after day after day. Married women here are expected to keep their face covered. Roukema deni tells me she and her four Daughters In Law make four trips to fetch water in the morning, four in the afternoon and four in the evening. Its 8am right now. Every drop is precious, used with care, and if possible, used again. Its hard to find water in the sand dunes here. Hand pumps dont yield anything, and open pipes are a reminder of failed wells. The lifeline of the desert has been these reservoirs that store rainwater. But as this farmer tells me, a few months of rain is not enough to quench a years thirst. Translation the reservoir dries up, and then we have to pay to get a water tanker. Even the tanker comes on a tractor, as there is no road. Then plants start growing at the bottom and deplete the water. We have to keep an eye, go down, and remove them regularly. Homes are few and far between in the desert. Getting water across sand dunes a big challenge. The engineer in charge explains the groundwork done over the last 50 years. Translation work on using ground | water in barmer began in the 1970s| by building open wells and tube wells. Then in 1990, the Indira Gandhi canal project was started, and it was completed by 2013. This brought water to the village. Now the Jaljeevan Mission is bringing this water to each household. An oasis of water in the parched thar desert. This is the tail end of the ambitious Indira Gandhi canal project, indias largest. This project begins all the way up in the north, in the state of punjab, and travels hundreds of kilometres to come down here to rajasthan, where the water is treated, made fit for household consumption, and then pumped to1 Million People living across the thar desert. Now the governments new scheme wants to take the canal� s water to the desert like on top of this sand dune to marlarams house. He shows me the new pipe laid to his house. He has covered it in sand to keep it safe from the scorching heat. Now the wait for water. His wife and daughter have again set out on their dailyjourney. Tulsi was five years old when she started walking with her mother to the well. She told me shed take a small pot along every bit counted. On the way, i ask her mother, did the men in the family help . She laughs and tells me the men wont even make a cup of tea for themselves. Water is only womens work. She didnt know then that her life was about to change. Today, the water from the Indira Gandhi canal is going to be supplied from this water tank to individual houses. The Village Council heads husband is in charge. As is common in many indian villages, women get elected to these positions but remain homemakers. Its the men in the family who call the shots. He tells me about the schedule to ensure water supply to all houses in the village. And the supply is finally turned on. There is excitement at tulsis house. She brings out two empty pots. And then more. Air hissing. First, its the sound of the wind. Some more nervous anticipation. And then, finally, water. Ah ha thank you very much thank you. Translation nowl can rest easy. I had a tough life, but no more walking with pots heavy with water, nor paying for Water Tankers. But the supply was still not enough. Tulsi continued going to the well to fetch water for their livestock. That quest would turn fatal. A few months after we filmed this, tulsi slipped while drawing water. Her body was found in the well. India is one of 17 countries globally where water stress is extremely high. This means it is running out of ground and Surface Water. Increasing population and Climate Change have been a strain. As the government finds ways to bring tap water to homes, it will also have to conserve and recharge the water. Because millions of women are still waiting, dreaming of a different life for their daughters one where they will not have to walk to fetch water. Hello there. It was a bit of a stormy spell of weather overnight friday into saturday with storm betty, but things are improving through the weekend with sunny spells and scattered showers for many parts of the uk. Lets take a look at the next few hours across the uk. You can see the remnants of storm betty, with heavy rain still with us through the northern isles, and a wrap around with cloud and rain through parts of Western Scotland, in towards Northern Ireland, but improving here through the afternoon with sunny skies. And for much of england and wales, some sunshine and scattered showers. Temperatures across the east and southeast in the mid 20s, thats above average, and many north sea coasts feeling warmer than it did yesterday. As we head into this evening and indeed tonight, that low pressure that was storm betty still towards the north west, giving us a north west, south east split. So taking a look through the course of saturday evening, most of that Heavy Rain Clearing away but still breezy if not windy around some western coast through Western Parts of scotland and the hebrides and around irish sea coasts, too, but not the strength of wind we saw. Elsewhere, dry, one or two showers, and temperatures lower than last night. Now, of course, on sunday, all eyes on sydney for that big game in the fifa world cup final, and after a pleasant winters day in sydney, by the time we reach kick off, were looking at temperatures around about the mid to high teens, plenty of sunshine, although a breeze coming in from the west. So for those looking to watch the game outdoors here at home, its largely dry on sunday with some sunshine, a few showers around. At times, we could see a few lines of showers coming in through parts of south wales in towards the southern midlands. Once again, its parts of england and the South East Of England that have the driest, warmest weather, cooler further north, breezy as well. Next week, that low pressure still with us to the north, perhaps tracking around east and west again at times, with higher pressure further south and east. And that means we still have that north west, south east split. You can see on monday, wet weather in towards parts of Northern Ireland and Western Scotland as well. But Eastern Scotland and for much of england dry with some sunshine, a few showers in towards wales, and once again, temperatures in the south east reaching the mid 20s, further north not too bad. So just to recap, through the course of the weekend into next week in the south, its dry and settled, a little more unsettled, though, as we head further north. Thats the forecast for now. Live from london this is bbc news. More questions about the british nurse convicted of murdering seven babies did the hospital properly investigate lucy letby . At least seven people are killed and nearly a0 injured in a Russian Missile attack on the city of chernihiv. And counting down to glory one more day before spain and england compete for the womens world cup. Hello, im lukwesa burak. Lets start with the latest in the lucy letby case. A video has emerged from 2014 of the former Chief Executive of the hospital where lucy letby worked, tony chambers, Offering Support to whistleblowers. The video was recorded just a year before the nurse murdered herfirst victim. We have heard from a number of consultants at the hospital who say their warnings were ignored, while the trusts attitide to whistleblowers has caused concern in this case. Ive got two pledges to make. The first is as a chief exec, i pledge to support a culture where the front line staff are supported in raising concerns. And more importantly, me listening to them when they do. The second pledge is to go back to my grassroots and spend the day as a Health Care Assistant in one of our busy care of the elderly wards. Dr Minh Alexander is a retired Consultant Psychiatrist and nhs whistleblower. Shes been telling us about the potential Obstacles Whistleblowers currently face
comparemela.com © 2020. All Rights Reserved.