Sirsa water crisis: Women lock jal ghar in protest

Jamal village in Sirsa district has been facing a serious water crisis. The situation became tense on Wednesday when women of the area protested water tanker drivers drawing water from the village’s main facility (jal ghar), while the villagers themselves had no access to clean drinking water.

According to villagers, after drinking water was supplied from a canal recently, two of the four water tanks (diggies) at the jal ghar were filled.

Despite this, no drinking water was being supplied to households in the village.

At the same time, tanker drivers were seen filling water from the diggies and selling it for Rs 700-Rs 1,000 per tanker, villagers claimed.

Angered by this, women villagers — including Sumitra, Saroj, Roshni and Mamta — along with Krishan Beniwal, Devi Lal Khichar and Mangeram, locked the main gate of the jal ghar in protest.

They demanded that tanker drivers be stopped from using the village’s limited water. They called for villagers to be given priority over the water supply.

The protest lasted about three hours. Around two dozen tankers were stopped inside the jal ghar. After discussions between villagers and tanker drivers, an agreement was reached.

The drivers agreed not to take water from the jal ghar, and the already filled tankers were emptied back into the diggies. Only after this assurance did the villagers unlock the gate, allowing tankers to leave.

The villagers now demand that the water supply to homes be started immediately.

They said they were already struggling with meeting daily water needs, and the situation would worsen if drinking water was not provided soon.

They urged local authorities to ensure that water meant for the village was not misused for commercial purposes.