Sunil Kerketta has been waiting for a steady water source in his village for what seems to be an eternity. For him and the 30 other families that live in Binutoli, Simdega District Jharkhand, getting water to drink and for household chores is a daily struggle. The village has two wells but both run dry in the summer season. Even now, as the winter months are beginning to set in, there is more mud than water in the wells. With neither wells nor hand pumps people are forced to trek to the neighbouring village, which is a kilometre away, to get water. The people in Binutoli depend mostly on small-scale agriculture for their income. In the absence of water the only crop that they can grow is paddy and even for this they depend entirely on the mercy of the monsoon rains. In the past months, many of our community correspondents have reported on the lack of drinking water across Jharkhand. Around 52% of Jharkhand’s villages face acute water shortage each year. It was over a year ago that the village met with their ward member and the village headman to ask for a hand pump. All they got were empty promises. Warles Surin, the IU community correspondent made this video to bring to light the situation of the village. Call to Action: Warles and the Binutoli community request you to call the Block Development Officer, Amar John Hind on the following number: 09835363051 and pressurise him to ensure that a hand pump is installed in the village at the earliest. Related videos: Not a Drop to Drink All is Not Well Another Hot and Thirsty Summer for Rural Jharkhand Article By: Kayonaaz Kalyanwala