Dedhaan, a remote village Saurashtra, is one of the driest regions in Gujarat. This year, the scanty rainfall has made the situation worse for the 15000-odd people in the village. Among other things, this has hit the eligibility of the single men in the village. No one wants to marry their girls and send them to the village where waiting for water has become a cruel daily ritual.
Dedhaan gets water only once in two days and that too for a few minutes.
Badshah Khan, the village sarpanch, says that there are around 500 men of marriageable age who are finding it hard to find partners. "The main problem is water shortage. The people, who come here with proposals, ask us the question - 'there is no water here. Why should we marry out girls here?' he says.
Areas around Dedhaan are also dry. But its remoteness makes it particularly vulnerable and water-less. Tales of its water scarcity has spread across the region, bringing its people infamy for no fault of theirs.
"It's a big problem for the youth here when it comes to marriage. In any case we are poor labourers; on top of that there is acute water shortage here. That's why nobody is ready to get their daughters married here," says Bhimji Bariya, a Dedhaan resident.
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