When survival trumped bias

What years of education, social messaging and reservations couldn't accomplish, water scarcity did in one summer

In rural Uttar Pradesh, especially in the heart of Bundelkhand, the annual summer drought regularly wreaks economic and emotional havoc in the lives of villagers. Some months ago, I visited the Mahuee village in Banda district to document the interventions of WaterAid, an international NGO that works on issues relating to water, sanitation and hygiene across the country. I discovered that the drought actually had an unintended positive fallout in this underdeveloped village. Here’s what I saw. 

Mahuee is ranked high among the villages worst affected by groundwater depletion in Banda district. Locals attest that in the last decade, water shortage