Kalamgaon is situated near the water sources of Mumbai. But it suffers from extreme water scarcity.The community depends on abandoned wells and ponds. Big dams like Bhatsa and Tansa are close by.Villages can’t pump water uphill, so engineers built a hyper-powered pump project. But till now, the decision is pending. Every day, villagers wait for tankers. Women and children walk for miles for water. Education and farming are severely impacted. NGOs have built proper wells. They also revived ponds and conserved water. Still, permanent government action is needed.
Kalmgaon Village Profile
Kalmgaon is a village in Shahapur Taluka of Thane District, Maharashtra, India. It lies within the Konkan region and falls under the Konkan Division. The village lies about 63 km east of Thane, the district headquarters, and approximately 86 km from Mumbai, the state capital. Kalmgaon borders Murbad Taluka to the south, Kalyan Taluka to the west, Wada Taluka to the north, and Ulhasnagar Taluka to the southwest. The closest cities to Kalmgaon are Kalyan, Ulhasnagar, Ambernath, and Bhiwandi. The Local language of Kalmgaon is Marathi. The total population of Kalamgaon village is 1,167, with a total number of households at 230. The Female Population is 49.6%. The village literacy rate is 64.4%, and the Female Literacy rate is 28.5%. The last census was conducted in 2011 (OneFiveNine, 2011). The Gram Panchayat has 5 villages divided into 4 wards: Pendhari, Kanvinde, Sakharoli, and Nadgaon (Lenad).
Roughly 60 villages lie within the Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary in the Thane and Palghar districts of Maharashtra, and Kalamgaon is one of them. The Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary itself is approximately 320 square kilometers and provides an important habitat for a variety of flora and fauna, including species like leopards, sloth bears, and the critically endangered forest owlet. for their livelihoods, either through traditional paddy cultivation or by supporting their livelihoods through the forest for fuelwood and other products.
This dependence on the forest exhibits the tenuous balance between human habitation and wildlife management in the sanctuary. There is a valid need to find a balance between its development and other requirements and its conservation needs that helps provide for the region, its wildlife, and its communities.
Water Issue
Dam
Shahapur Taluka in Thane District houses both the Bhatsa Dam and the Tansa Dam, while Mokhada Taluka in Palghar District houses the Vaitarna (Modaksagar) Dam. The combined water supply from these three dams provides drinking water, irrigation, and hydroelectric power to Mumbai’s continuously growing population.
● The Bhatsa Dam is known to hold around 976.1 billion liters, which makes it one of the largest reservoirs supplying Mumbai and the
Greater Mumbai metropolitan region. It is used for irrigation and power supply, making it an important piece of infrastructure in the
region.
● The Tansa Dam, with a capacity of 184,700 million liters, is essential for supplying drinking water to the city of Mumbai. The Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary is located around the dam and preserves the natural ecosystem.
● Vaitarna Dam (also called Modaksagar Dam) holds about 193,530 million litres of water and is another significant source of water for
the city of Mumbai. The dam is situated in an attractive scenic area and is an important ecological zone.
These dams are not able to supply water to the villages, as the villages are at a higher altitude and the dams are at a lower altitude, making it hard for the dams to pump water. To these villages. In their neighboring place, Nasik, they have made a 5,476 crore hyper-powered pump, which can solve the problem. 60% of the work is finished, but the forest department’s approval has been delayed till now.
Wells
Chaudharipada and nearby villages suffered from severe water scarcity, especially in the summer; the only sources, an old broken well, a small pond, and a seasonal river, were inadequate and unclean. Villagers, including those from Tumbadepada, Ambatpada, and Nandgaon, had to walk miles for water. The lack of a stable water supply also hindered farming, particularly Mogra cultivation, impacting livelihoods.
Mumbai receives 455 million liters of water daily from the Vaitarna and Tansa dams and 2,050 million from Shahapur’s Bhatsa dam. However, Shahapur locals noted a significant water distribution disparity. They said Mumbai could last a year on a day’s water consumption. According to the Shahapur Gram Panchayat Samiti, the taluka, which has over four lakh residents, needs 17.62 million gallons of water daily. However, approximately 150 settlements lack direct water delivery, requiring others to use tankers. The loss of groundwater makes borewells harder for these locals to use. The only option is to supply them with dam water. The government should help these areas get enough water.
Endless Wait for Water
Ashok Jangale of Shahapur demanded fair water distribution. We wait overnight for a bucket of water, although Mumbai has plenty. Why unequal? Since we use tankers while water-filled dams surround us, the government must intervene (The Asian Age, 2019). About 198 Shahapur tribal communities receive water from 38 tankers. Some women plan their lives around these tankers, waiting 3–9 hours (India Today, 2024). They take as much water as can, unsure if the tanker will return tomorrow. Despite Bhatsa, Tansa, and Vaitarna dams, Shahapur taluka residents have faced water shortages for years. Collecting water with small children makes life difficult for women. The daily strain distracts many students from their studies. Recent rising temperatures in Shahapur Taluka, Thane District, India, have aroused concerns about the situation (Pratik Chorge Blog). Year-round water shortage. Issue has persisted for years. Is this certain? It appeared in Hindustan last year with photos. Vikas Jadhav, Thane Zilla Parishad’s water department chief, said villages would receive water tankers every other day or as needed. “If necessary, we will increase the number of tankers during the summer,” he stated (Hindustan Times, 2024). In summer, when water is scarce, authorities feed settlements using tankers.
Shahapur’s Water Crisis Deepens
The number of Shahapur hamlets and villages with acute water constraints rose to 42 this year from 26 in 2023. Officials said the administration has sent more water tanks. The Thane Zilla Parishad said on Wednesday (Times of India, 2023) that water shortages have hampered the population until March 4.This issue existed before 2024, according to evidence. Villagers 55 kilometres from Mumbai go 12 to 15 kilometres daily to gather one pot of water. Authorities often ignore the water shortage in Fugale Gramme Panchayat and nearby regions of Shahapur taluka, Thane district, despite repeated objections. In these efforts, Shramjivi Sangathan founder and State Level Review Committee Chairman Vivek Pandit has met with protesting women in Gangamai Devasthan and Taharpur. The women’s call, “Ek hatat handa, ani dusrya haatat danda” (One hand holds a water pot, the second has a stick), encapsulates the desire for government water plan responsibility. Free Press Journal.
Vihigaon’s Daily Struggle for Water
Vihigaon is a village located in the Shahapur taluka of Thane district, Maharashtra. It is facing the problem of severe water scarcity due to its proximity to Mumbai, which receives water supply from nearby dams. Villagers like Bhagibai Laxman Wagh make endless efforts to get water and face the hot and humid summer weather, and travel 2 km every day to fetch water. The community relies on wells filled by tankers, which frequently dry up. Some residents even walk 5 km or more into the forest to get spring water. Schoolchildren wait in water instead of being in school. The crisis affects social life—some marriages are delayed or canceled because of a lack of
water; families spend ₹2,000 or more on private tankers for weddings and other events. As stated by Prakash Khodaka of the Shramjivi Sanghatna NGO, the water issue has now “become a permanent aspect of daily life” (Times of India). The Children of God Foundation’s Project Pragati has brought a transformative change to 300 families across the villages of Chaudharipada, Tumbadepada, Ambatpada, and Nandgaon by ensuring a steady and reliable supply of clean water. To tackle the ongoing water scarcity, the project took a multi-faceted approach, building an 8-meter-diameter reinforced cement concrete (RCC) well, restoring the existing pond to improve water retention, and excavating the seasonal river to manage water flow and protect the well.
Project Pragati
Designed to benefit both the villagers and their livestock, this initiative has not only relieved women and children from the burden of long walks to fetch water, giving them more time for education, work, and family, but has also revitalized Mogra farming, boosting incomes and strengthening economic stability. With sufficient water now available, livestock health has also improved, providing further support to the local agricultural economy. By addressing a fundamental need, Project Pragati has created a lasting impact, improving daily life, fostering economic growth, and ensuring a sustainable future for the community. To increase the groundwater level, they have started water conservation by educating the villagers and children about planting more trees and by making water recharge puddles in all these places.
Copyrights: All the photos and text in this post are the copyright of Abel Benjamin Samuel and Creative Hut Institute of Photography and Film. Their reproduction, full or part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.
