A well of water brings gush of joy to this Pathanamthitta family
Learning of their plight, Jessy’s friends came together to lend a hand in digging a well on the premises of her house.
Published: 28th March 2023 06:49 AM | Last Updated: 28th March 2023 06:49 AM | A+A A-
The well being dug by Jessy and her friends at Naranammoozhy
PATHANAMTHITTA: When the water started gushing from the bed of a well being dug on the premises of her house, Jessy breathed a sigh of relief. She knew this meant an end to the acute water crisis that had plagued her family for years.
Jessy, 45, and her friends had been digging the well since March 4. Now, with water in sight, the team is taking a very deserved break before resuming the work, which they deem will be complete in another 2-3 days.
“We saw the source of water after we dug a little over 6 metres. We are certain that digging one more metre would easily get us the water we need,” Jessy said.
Hundreds of villagers poured into her house at Naranammoozhy in Pathanamthitta to catch a glimpse of the water in the well.
Jessy, her husband Sabu, and their three children face acute water shortage every summer.Though they have been facing the problem for years, the unprecedented rise in temperature has made conditions worse.
They used to get by with the water brought via private tanker lorries. However, this costs Rs 1,000 for every 2,000 litres of water and barely lasts a week.
To conserve water, Jessy is forced to hire an autorickshaw for Rs 400 to reach the Pampa river, around 7 km away, to wash their clothes. Though the family has depended on tanker lorries to bring them potable water throughout the year, there is a sharp rise in price during the summers.
While it was clear that the problem could be alleviated by digging a well, the cost of the job (Rs 1.5-2 lakh) was out of reach for the family.
Learning of their plight, Jessy’s friends came together to lend a hand in digging a well on the premises of her house.
Since Sabu, 46, is the sole breadwinner of the family, he could not afford to stay away from work.
However, this was no problem for Jessy and her seven friends – Mariyamma Thomas, 52; Leelamma Jose, 50; Ushakumari, 51; Lilly K K, 51; Kochumol, 49; Rejimol, 42; and Anu Thomas, 34. They began their work on March 4.
“We will resume our work on Monday. All of us are very happy as our mission is nearing completion,” Jessy said.
