“Pehle isi khet se 50 bora gehu nikalta tha. Ab mushkil se 6 quintal nikla hai,” says 28-year-old Chinnu, looking over the harvested wheat field outside his home in Kalyanpur village of Panna. “Tubewell mein paani nahi hai. Sinchai nahi ho paayi. Har saal fasal kam hoti ja rahi hai.”

For generations, Chinnu’s family survived through farming. But today, despite owning nearly five acres of land and living in a family of six, agriculture alone is no longer enough to sustain them. During the wheat harvesting season this year, when temperatures in parts of Panna crossed 42 degrees, Chinnu and several other small farmers from the village were leaving for daily wage work instead of preparing for the next crop cycle. “Kabhi Delhi, kabhi Bombay jaana padta hai majdoori ke liye,” he says. Chinnu says he belongs to the second generation in his family that has been forced into migration and labour work. “Pitaji kabhi-kabhi khadan mein kaam kar lete the, lekin unse pehle kisi ko zaroorat nahi padi. Kheti se hi ghar chal jaata tha.”

A Village Where Water Is Disappearing

Kalyanpur, located nearly seven kilometres from the Panna district headquarters in the drought-prone Bundelkhand region, is home to nearly 150 families, including more than 80 Adivasi households. Most families here have traditionally depended on farming for their livelihood. But villagers say the worsening water crisis has changed life in the village over the last decade.

According to local residents, groundwater levels that were once found around 25 feet have now fallen close to 50 feet in several areas. Continuous extraction of groundwater, erratic rainfall and lack of proper water conservation are seen as major reasons behind the decline. Many wells and borewells now dry up before summer fully arrives, leaving farmers struggling for irrigation water during cultivation.

Outside the village, government advertisements of the “Nal Jal Ganga Samvardhan Abhiyaan” can be seen painted across walls and public spaces. But inside Kalyanpur, many residents say even drinking water remains a daily struggle during peak summer months. “Jab peene ke liye paani nahi milta, toh kheton mein kya denge,” says 35-year-old Meena, whose husband died while working in a mine. She now supports her four children through small farming, selling firewood and occasional labour work. Her family owns nearly three acres of land, but she says farming no longer provides enough to survive. “Kheti se bas tana-bana mil jaata hai. Guzaara bahut mushkil se hota hai.”

Fields That Once Fed Families No Longer Sustain Them

In Kalyanpur, the falling groundwater level is not being measured only in feet, but also in shrinking harvests, migration and the growing uncertainty inside farming households. Mahesh Gond, a 56-year-old farmer from Kalyanpur village of Panna, says farming is now becoming harder with every passing year. His family of five depends entirely on agriculture for survival, but the falling water level has sharply reduced crop production on his one acre of land. “Pehle isi zameen se 15 quintal tak gehu nikal jaata tha. Ab sirf 6-7 quintal hi hua,” he says. According to him, rainfall was far better a decade ago, and there was enough water for irrigation. “Ab paani bahut neeche chala gaya hai,” he says quietly, explaining how the harvest has reduced to almost one-third because of the water crisis.

A similar struggle is visible in the home of 72-year-old Kishori Bai, who owns nearly four acres of land and cultivates wheat and mustard. Sitting outside her house in Kalyanpur, she says farming no longer supports families the way it once did. This year, she sowed nearly 50 kilos of mustard seeds, but the crop yielded only around one paseri of mustard. Wheat production too remained low. “Sasur aur pitaji kheti karat rahe. Ab bachchan ko majdoori karke hi khaana padat hai,” she says. Her children now depend on labour work to support the family. “Bohot bure halat hain,” Kishori Bai adds, describing how farming in the village is slowly losing its ability to sustain the people who have depended on it for generations.

When Farming Stops Feeding Families, Farmers Are Forced Into Labour

In villages of Panna such as Kalyanpur, where groundwater levels continue to decline year after year, tribal activist Rambai says the water crisis now threatens the very survival of farming communities. “Yahan paani ki samasya pehle se thi, lekin ab sthiti aur gambhir hoti ja rahi hai,” she says. Wells are drying up, borewells are going deeper, and farmers are no longer able to cultivate crops the way they once did.

According to Rambai, the crisis is affecting small and Adivasi farmers the most, as they depend entirely on agriculture for their livelihood. “Jab kheti se ghar nahi chal paata, tab kisaan majdoori karne ko majboor ho jaata hai,” she says. Repeated crop losses, declining water availability and rising cultivation costs are slowly pushing farmers away from their own fields. “Kisaan dheere-dheere apni zameen se toot rahe hain,” she adds.

Questioning the implementation of government schemes, Rambai says programmes such as the Centre’s Bundelkhand Package, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY), and several irrigation and farmer welfare schemes run by the Madhya Pradesh government have not brought visible relief to many drought-affected villages. “Yojanaayein kagazon mein dikhai deti hain, lekin gaon mein unka asar utna nazar nahi aata,” she says, alleging that the government’s response to the worsening groundwater crisis has remained inadequate.

Calling it not just an environmental crisis but also a question of livelihood and dignity, Rambai says the continuous decline in groundwater levels is pushing more small and tribal farmers towards debt, migration, and loss of livelihood.

“If Water Keeps Falling, Fields May Turn Barren”: Experts Warn Farmers in Panna

Wheat cannot survive without water. The crop needs at least four to five irrigations during its cultivation, but in Panna, farmers are no longer able to provide that, says agricultural scientist Dr. Manoj Kumar Ahirwar, explaining the sharp decline in wheat production across the region.

In villages where groundwater levels have continuously fallen over the years, farmers say the output from their fields has reduced drastically compared to a decade ago. According to Dr. Ahirwar, the crisis is not limited to one bad season, but reflects a deeper environmental stress caused by declining water availability and excessive dependence on groundwater for irrigation.

He says that under the present conditions, farmers need to gradually shift towards crops that require less water and can survive in drought-prone regions. Crops like mustard and alsi (flaxseed), which require only one or two irrigations, may prove more sustainable for farmers facing recurring water shortages. Alongside crop diversification, he emphasises the need to scientifically conserve rainwater so that it can be stored and used during cultivation periods instead of being lost after the monsoon.

Dr. Ahirwar also stresses that Krishi Vigyan Kendras and farmers must work collectively to spread awareness about water conservation and sustainable agricultural practices. Warning about the future, he says that if groundwater depletion continues at the current pace, agriculture in the region could face severe consequences in the coming years, and parts of the farmland may eventually turn barren.

Welfare Schemes Amid a Deepening Water Crisis

At a time when farmers in drought-affected villages of Panna are facing declining groundwater levels and shrinking crop production, both the Centre and the Madhya Pradesh government have continued to introduce schemes and budget allocations focused on agriculture and farmer welfare. In its 2026–27 budget, the Madhya Pradesh government allocated nearly ₹1.15 lakh crore for agriculture and farmer welfare, while declaring 2026 as “Kisan Kalyan Varsh” (Farmer Welfare Year). The budget also included allocations for irrigation expansion, crop insurance, solar pump schemes and welfare programmes such as the Mukhyamantri Kisan Kalyan Yojana and the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.

On the ground, however, many farmers and activists say the reality remains very different. In villages facing repeated drought-like conditions, the lack of irrigation facilities, water conservation systems and groundwater recharge continues to affect cultivation.

The Constitutional Promise Under Stress

The crisis also raises larger constitutional questions around the right to life and livelihood guaranteed under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. For many farmers, access to water is directly linked to dignity, food security and survival. Directive Principles such as Article 39(b), which speaks about equitable distribution of resources, and Article 48A, which calls upon the state to protect the environment and natural resources, become especially significant. In drought-hit villages where farming is becoming uncertain due to falling groundwater levels, many small and Adivasi farmers are slowly being pushed towards debt and daily wage labour.

For families that have depended on farming for generations, the loss of water is not just the loss of a crop, but the loss of stability, identity and security. When farmers are forced to leave their land because cultivation is no longer sustainable, the constitutional promise of social and economic justice begins to weaken on the ground. In villages like Kalyanpur, the growing water crisis is quietly affecting the dignity of those communities whose lives have always remained tied to the soil and agriculture.