2023-09-21 21:58:00
Residents of the Dourados Reserve walk under the strong sun to fetch polluted water from a stream
In the middle of a historic heat wave that is hitting the hemisphere, children are having to walk under the scorching sun to get water to quench their thirst and help their families prepare food in the Dourados Indigenous Reserve, the most populous in Mato Grosso do Sul.
The scenes seem to be repeated, but so far, despite many promises, the government has not been able to solve the problem of shortages in the Bororó and Jaguapiru villages.
Video circulating on social networks and chat app groups shows a group of children marching in a trieiro in the middle of the forest to fetch water from the Aldeia Bororó stream. “Please help us, we need water”, they beg (see images above).
Village leaders claim that the water is contaminated by pesticides, as the stream cuts through soybean and corn crops around the reserve. However, it is the only source to guarantee the minimum for the residents’ subsistence. “The lack of water in our village is chronic, that’s regrettable,” he said today to the Campo Grande News the Bororó captain, Dinho Arévalo.
In Jaguapiru, according to vice-captain Ivan Cleber de Souza, known as “Tainha”, the population has faced a lack of water for several years, but in recent days, with temperatures approaching 40 degrees, the situation has worsened.
Water taken by tanker truck is placed in a reservoir in Jaguapiru (Photo: Disclosure)
“Things are bad here. There is a water truck and a pickup truck delivering water, but there is never enough to serve everyone in our village. They come two, three times a week. To avoid getting thirsty, residents continue to get water from the mine,” said the leader.
In January of this year, the Campo Grande News visited the villages of Dourados and showed the drama faced by the majority of the 20 thousand residents, without treated water.
After the repercussions, the State Government created a working group and Sanesul teams carried out surveys and some palliative measures, but the problem was never fully resolved.
“They made network extensions and some changes, but the flow rate in the wells dropped a lot and now they are practically dry,” said the vice-captain.
Sanesul was approached about the matter. Through the communications department, she informed that she will speak out soon.
Through May’s press office, governor Eduardo Riedel (PSDB) informed that he called on Sanesul to make a diagnosis of the situation in the indigenous reserve. “Despite the federal government’s responsibility towards indigenous villages, the governor, sensitive to the situation, called on Sanesul to carry out a diagnosis and provide a technical solution to end the lack of water. With the technical proposal ready, Eduardo Riedel is requesting resources from the Union for the definitive solution, as both the State Government and Sanesul cannot intervene in indigenous territory”, says the note.
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