It was the first day of Diwali, and Rupali Hukire (name changed), a 42-year-old beautician, hurriedly cleaned big buckets and steel pots. She draws water from her neighbour's borewell at a cost of Rs 100 for 30 minutes of pumping. Though her home, in Khandavi village in the Barshi tehsil of Maharashtra’s Solapur district, has a water connection provided by the gram panchayat, she gets tap water for only 45 minutes, once a week.
