Drying wells and ponds of Uttar Pradesh re-shape rural communities' water security, culture, and connection

Declining groundwater levels and growing neglect of traditional water sources in rural Uttar Pradesh have deepened water scarcity. Their disappearance has also reshaped village life, weakening social bonds, cultural practices, and shared community spaces that once revolved around water.

Ponds, pools, and wells were more than sources of water. They functioned as centres of everyday social life. Villagers gathered here to share conversations, laughter, concerns, and celebrations. Women collected water, bathed, and found moments of rest from daily labour. Children learned to swim, while young people formed friendships and new relationships blossomed around these shared spaces. Elders often met along pond banks and near wells to discuss farming, marriages, and village affairs.

As these water bodies dried and fell into disrepair, silence replaced activity. Their disappearance reflects not only a growing water crisis but also a gradual transformation of rural social life.

What do the figures say?

The Central Ground Water Board’s 2021 report, State of Ground Water in Uttar Pradesh, presents a concerning picture. Between 2009 and 2018, groundwater extraction exceeded recharge in nearly 70 percent of the state’s 820 development blocks, resulting in continuous decline in water levels.

Western Uttar Pradesh and Bundelkhand remain among the worst affected regions. Groundwater levels have fallen by more than eight metres in several blocks, with annual declines exceeding 20 centimetres in some areas. Districts such as Meerut, Aligarh, Agra, and Ghaziabad face severe stress, while Bundelkhand districts including Chitrakoot, Banda, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Jalaun, and Jhansi report persistent depletion. Urban districts such as Lucknow, Kanpur, and Prayagraj also show worrying trends.

An RTI response from November 2012 further highlights the scale of loss. Information sought by activist Ashish Sagar revealed that 4,020 ponds and wells had disappeared across Bundelkhand. These losses include 151 water sources in Chitrakoot, 869 in Banda, 541 in Hamirpur, and 2,459 in Jhansi.

Wells fading from everyday life

Sudama Prasad, 85, a retired teacher and folklorist from Nainpur village in Kanpur Dehat, recalls a time when wells and ponds formed the foundation of village life. He has written several folk songs on water conservation and declining groundwater levels.

According to him, skilled labourers capable of digging wells are now difficult to find, making restoration increasingly challenging. As wells dried, traditional practices such as drawing water collectively and holding informal village gatherings known as baithki (sit-ins) also disappeared. Borewells installed within homes reduced the need for women to step outside, quietly ending shared social interactions.

Prasad notes that his village once had seven wells and two ponds. The process of drying began nearly four decades ago but has accelerated sharply in recent years.

Impact on livestock and rural livelihoods

Traditional water bodies supported not only households but also livestock and local economies. Pramod Kumar Katiyar, 58, from Dadhapur village, describes the growing difficulty faced by farmers. He says, “Earlier, we used to take the animals to the pond every day during the summer afternoons to bathe them. Now, all this has stopped. Now, the animals are bathed only once or twice every two to three months, and that too mostly on festivals. People somehow manage to arrange water for drinking and household purposes, but providing water for the animals has become a huge challenge.”

According to the study conducted at the Institute of Science, Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan, highlights that ponds play critical ecological roles. They support biodiversity, regulate local temperature and humidity, store carbon, and strengthen water security. Yet they continue to be treated as minor resources.

Cultural memory and disappearing traditions

Women historically shared a close relationship with wells and ponds. Rituals, songs, and seasonal customs evolved around these spaces.

Recalling a traditional song, Shivpyari Devi reflects on earlier practices when new mothers visited village wells for rituals accompanied by songs sung collectively by women. Today, such ceremonies continue only symbolically as many wells no longer exist.

For many women, wells offered rare opportunities for social interaction. Kanti Katiyar remembers forming lifelong friendships while fetching water. She also recalls caste based exclusion at wells, saying, “Lower castes had to wait until upper castes finished drawing water. Now, with the wells gone, even these things are gone.”

Despite social inequalities, she believes wells sustained everyday connections within villages. At the same time, a 2024 news report from Banda district shows that conflicts around water access continue even today, indicating that social tensions linked to water have not disappeared.

Water bodies woven into rituals and livelihoods

In districts such as Kanpur Dehat, where rivers are absent, ponds and wells once supported nearly every aspect of life. Pond clay played a role in weddings, festivals, and housing construction. Women collected soil while singing ceremonial songs, and clay lamps marked family milestones.

Sudama Prasad explains, “Earlier, there used to be mud houses. In the summer, when the pond's water level would decrease, people would bring clay from the pond to strengthen the roofs of their houses.” Clay from ponds was also used to create figures for children’s festivals such as Jhonjhi and Tesu, which concluded with ritual immersion back into the pond.

Marriage customs also reflected respect for water sources. Newly married couples traditionally bathed at the pond before entering their homes, symbolising transition into a new phase of life and recognition of the village water source.

Dr. Narendra Saraswat explains that the ritual introduced couples to both social responsibility and the importance of shared water resources. “Now, the water source is no longer the same; it's just that the leaks are being plugged,” he observes.

Today, the 70 to 80 year old Nainpur well stands in ruins, reflecting a wider pattern across the region where declining water levels and lack of maintenance have left many wells abandoned.

Technology, neglect, and falling groundwater

Residents attribute the decline partly to changing technology and weakening collective responsibility. Sudama Prasad notes that groundwater levels in the region have fallen by more than 100 feet due to widespread use of hand pumps followed by submersible pumps.

62-year-old Shiv Sagar Lal Katihar from Dadhapur explains that community stewardship has weakened.  According to him, dried ponds were often filled with waste instead of being restored, while remaining ponds suffer severe contamination. He says, “When the ponds and wells dried up, people started filling them with garbage instead of saving them. The few ponds in the village that have some water left are badly contaminated. The community doesn't work together to maintain them, so the problem has become even bigger."

In this article by senior journalist P. Sainath shows how rapidly tube wells, bore wells and submersible pumps have depleted groundwater in our country. According to this, the per capita availability of water in India was 5177 cubic meters in 1951, which has fallen to only 1341 cubic meters by 2025. Groundwater levels have also declined by more than 70% in the last 75 years. According to a 2019 report published in the Times of India, in the last decade, groundwater has been over-extracted in 70% of the area of ​​Uttar Pradesh.

Community efforts to revive traditional water systems

Despite decline, several initiatives demonstrate the potential for recovery through collective action.

Former Banda District Magistrate Dr. Hiralal Patel launched a campaign to restore wells and ponds through government schemes and community participation. Around 1,200 ponds and 2,200 wells were revived, contributing to a groundwater rise of 1.34 metres and an 18 percent increase in crop productivity.

He explains, “I wanted to dig wells and ponds not only on the ground but also in the hearts and minds of people.”

Water conservationist Umashankar Pandey transformed Jakhani village into a national example of groundwater restoration. Honoured with the Padma Shri and the National Water Warrior Award, he mobilised villagers to clean ponds, connect drainage systems for rainwater harvesting, and prevent soil erosion. Regular maintenance now sustains water availability across the village.

Ramveer Tanwar of Ghaziabad, widely known as the “Pondman,” has revived more than 40 ponds across nine states through community participation and crowdfunding initiatives such as the “Selfie with Pond” campaign. He explains, “Rainwater collected in the pond recharges groundwater by one to one and a half meters. A clean pond is also good for fish farming and crops like water chestnuts. This also provides additional income for the people.”

The disappearance of ponds and wells in Uttar Pradesh represents more than environmental decline. It marks the erosion of shared spaces, cultural memory, and collective responsibility. Reviving these water bodies requires not only technical solutions but renewed community engagement. Their restoration offers a chance to recover both water security and the social life that once flowed around it.