Village for sale: Maharashtra residents protest years-long water crisis

Residents of Tulshi village in Maharashtra have put up a banner declaring their village "for sale" with the price set as water, in a symbolic protest against a long-running water crisis. The protest comes as farms and wells have dried up and the village has been relying entirely on water tankers.

The 7,000 residents of the village in Solapur district say years of government plans and assurances have not brought relief. They say incomplete excavation work on the Sina-Madha Lift Irrigation Scheme has left Tulshi dry for several years, even though canals of the project pass close to the village.

"The village faces water scarcity every year. Though the canals of the Sina-Madha scheme pass close to the village, we don't benefit from it. By putting up the board saying 'Village for Sale, Price: Water', we are trying to draw the government's attention to our plight," said Tulshi sarpanch Sharad More.

Villagers began a hunger strike on September 14 demanding water and later held a 'thali-naad' protest outside the Madha tehsil office by beating utensils. They have warned of stepping up the agitation if the issue is not resolved.

More had earlier said around 800 metres of excavation work near the seventh and eighth outlets of the Sina-Madha scheme has remained incomplete for the past 26 years. He had said completing this work could permanently solve Tulshi's water problem.

According to residents, poor rainfall this monsoon has worsened the already severe shortage. They said works have been taken up under the Jal Jeevan Mission, but the scheme has not helped because the local water source has dried up.

Villagers added the crisis has badly affected livelihoods in Tulshi, where most people depend on farming and animal husbandry. More claimed around 350 men in the village remain unmarried because no one is willing to give them brides.

In 2024, the Krishna Valley Development Corporation reportedly approved water supply from the Sina-Madha Lift Irrigation Scheme to Tulshi and other drought-prone villages, including Bavi, Paritewadi, Kurdu, Pimpalkhunte, Ambad and Anjangaon. Instructions were also issued to submit the third revised administrative approval for the scheme.

In January this year, it was announced that Rs 90 lakh had been sanctioned for 2025-26 to supply water through a closed pipeline from the Sina-Madha scheme to the Bhavani percolation tank in Tulshi. The announcement said the work was expected to meet the village's drinking water and irrigation needs.

More, however, said villagers had only heard that some funds from the DPDC had been sanctioned for the closed pipeline and that no concrete steps had followed. Villagers said Tulshi has 14 completely dry ponds and wells, and filling them could significantly ease the shortage of drinking and irrigation water.

They added that a proposal and estimate for the work had already been prepared. They said they had repeatedly submitted representations to the administration and held protests, but no permanent solution had emerged.

"The board saying 'Village for Sale' is a symbolic protest to draw the government's attention to our water problem. Our agitation will continue until we get water," More said.

Speaking to reporters in Pune, state Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharne acknowledged the issue and said the state government would provide all possible help to the village. The protest in Tulshi sums up a village's demand for a permanent water supply after years of delays, tanker dependence and failed assurances.- Ends