In Kajrai village of Bundelkhand, with only one well left to serve as a source of water, the villagers are worried about being left at the mercy of moneylenders soon.
The wells in and around the vicinity are dry due to the drought over the years. Fields and crops have also long been ruined. People have resorted to borrowing to solve their financial woes, at least temporarily.
Savitri is a local whose husband’s prolonged sickness with tuberculosis led to his death and eventually left her with negligible income from the farmland.
Savitri says, “In the past five years there has been little to no rain…I initially took a loan of 15,000 rupees to pay for my husband’s treatment. But not soon after, he passed away, so I took another loan of 15,000 rupees to pay for his funeral.” She is now planning her daughter’s wedding for which she will have to borrow more money.
The struggles of the communities living in these parts only continue to grow due to the ongoing crisis.
Three of the four wells in Kajarai village are dry. It seems to be only a matter of days before the fourth well too, shares the same fate.
“Last year our children got sick and my husband had to borrow money to pay for their treatment and medicines,” says Kranti. She explains that the previous Sarpanch agreed to loan her husband the money. The Sarpanch gave him a choice to either pay back the amount in cash or in kind by working on his farm. Kranti’s husband has been working there ever since.
“Five months ago I also fell ill,” Kranti says, “we didn’t have the money for treatment again and went back to borrow more money.”
Even though their debt had not been cleared yet, their loan was granted without any questions asked.
Kranti adds further, “We don’t own any land so the only work we can find are on other farms. Without the rains this year, work has been scarce and what we earn is barely enough to sustain ourselves.”
Their meal consists of one roti made of wheat that her husband receives as payment for the work he does to repay his debt.
Another family in the village seems to be struggling with a similar fate. Savitri too is planning her daughter’s wedding in the face of dire circumstances.
“I’m looking forward to getting her married soon”, says Savitri. “The wedding expenses will cost me about 1,00,000 rupees which I’ll borrow again from the moneylender.”
“I don’t know how I’ll pay it back but I’m sure I’ll find a way”, she says
Selling her land is not an option, as she wants to save it for her son to inherit when he comes of age.
As the drought persists, it makes no distinction between the landless and small landowners. The struggles of the communities living in these parts only continue to grow.
(World Vision India is a Christian grassroots humanitarian organisation that serves all people regardless of religion, caste, race, ethnicity or gender. Through development, relief and advocacy, they strive/seek to create lasting change in the lives of children, their families and communities living in contexts of poverty and injustice. World Vision works in nearly 100 countries worldwide, and they have been in India since 1962. They work in over 6200 urban, rural and tribal communities spread over 163 districts across 26 states impacting the lives of 26 lakh children. For more information, go to https://www.worldvision.in/)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)