Water scarcity forces youth to leave villages for work

Vijaysinh Parmar TNN Dahod: Even a casual observer can make out that there is something other than water missing in villages scattered across the hilly terrain of tribal-dominated Dahod district. They are youngsters! Forget teenagers, it is difficult to find men and women below the age of 30 years in most villages. The reason: Large scale migration of families to cities due to unavailability of water for irrigation. Water, however, is aplenty beneath the ground and digging just 15 feet can bring it to the surface. But, digging one well requires at least Rs one lakh, a staggering amount for villagers. So, sons and grandsons of Nathia Ninama, living in Valundi village, are all working at construction sites in Ahmedabad. Even Ninama did this in his youth, but now age has got better of his agility. His grandsons are even studying in Ahmedabad schools but during this vacation time, they also work. “At least they can meet their school expenses,” he says. The majority of Valundi’s villagers are in Ahmedabad, Surat and Baroda, working at construction sites. Tolsing Damor of Chaklia village in Jhalod taluka stopped going to cities for work after his brother died after falling from the tenth floor of Shilalekh building in Shahibaug in Ahmedabad. “My son, however, is working in Ahmedabad. There is no way out since our land is fertile but without water we can harvest only one crop in a year,” says Damor. Nearly 90 per cent of Chaklia’s 16,000 population is in cities. Cereals like tuver (lentil), udad as well as maize and vegetables grow in abundance in this region. “Despite plenty of ground water and fertile lands, we have to migrate with our family to cities,” says Magan Sangala of Kamavira village in Garbada taluka.