Khandwa women blocked a highway over a water crisis, defied authority, faced threats, and emerged empowered.
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00:00Sir, don't talk about the good news.
00:02No, don't talk about the good news.
00:04I didn't talk about the good news.
00:06I didn't talk about the bad news.
00:08I didn't talk about the bad news.
00:10These were the scenes on 13 April 2025
00:12in Madhya Pradesh's Khanwar district
00:14where residents had been battling
00:16a worsening water crisis in April 2025.
00:18Frustrated and desperate,
00:20a group of women blocked the Khanwar
00:22Deetilai State Highway near
00:24Essend College from 8.30am
00:26demanding access to something as basic
00:28as clean drinking water.
00:30When a few men tried to step in, the women
00:32firmly responded, we'll fight our own
00:34battle.
00:48Upon learning of the protest,
00:50SDM Bajrang Bahadur, Municipal Deputy
00:52Commissioner Sachin Sitole
00:54and local police reached the site.
00:56However, instead of addressing the grievances,
00:58SDM Bahadur threatened the protestors
01:00with FIRs, further fueling the
01:02women's anger.
01:04When we put the water, we said,
01:06we'll throw the pipeline.
01:08When we put the water, we'll throw the pipeline.
01:10If we turn tomorrow, we'll throw the pipeline.
01:12Khanwar's water crisis is entirely man-made.
01:14Despite ample water sources,
01:16poor distribution and repeated bursts
01:18in the Nanmada water scheme's main pipeline
01:20have left the city parched.
01:22A private company is responsible for the pipeline's upkeep,
01:24but the administration has failed to act,
01:26allowing the crisis to deepen.
01:28While the authorities have frequently warned of FIRs,
01:30none have been filed against those truly responsible.
01:34They have to have the pipeline,
01:36we're going to throw the pipeline's upkeep.
01:38We'll throw the pipeline's upkeep,
01:40but the administration has failed to act,
01:42allowing the crisis to deepen.
01:44While the authorities have frequently warned of FIRs,
01:46none have been filed against those truly responsible.
01:48If we put this pipeline, then what do we do now?
01:50We send tankers, we send tankers, we send tankers, we send them all to each other.
01:58And we send them all to the tankers, we go and see.
02:01Eventually the municipal corporation resumed water supply, ending the protest.
02:05But the impact of the demonstration lingered.
02:08It wasn't just about water, it became a moment of empowerment.
02:12The women of Khanwa proved they could raise their voices,
02:14confront authority and demand what is rightfully theirs.
02:17The government has done it, the government has taken it.
02:21That does go where they are!