Public co-investment in groundwater recharge in Bundelkhand, Uttar Pradesh, India

The 880 mm of rainfall that the landscape around Jhansi (India) receives in an average year easily allows for one cropping season. In the long dry season, however, life becomes difficult in the rural areas and the wells used for irrigating a second crop rapidly dry up, so only a small part of the land can be cropped twice. Many people look for seasonal jobs in cities in this period, as even drinking water becomes hard to obtain, while the livestock roams around freely to feed on whatever biomass it can find. This practice of abandoning cattle is known as annapratha locally. In the dry years from 2004 to 2007 and in 2014, 2015 and 2016, more than 80% of open wells dried up soon after the monsoon season. Water scarcity due to frequent dry spells in the rainy season resulted in poor productivity, with crop yield ranging between 500–1000 kg/ha for major cereals, pulses and oil seed. Moreover, as water for domestic use is traditionally collected by women and at large distances from home, school attendance is low.