Women’s role in water resource management: a case study on upper catchment area of Kangsabati river basin under Purulia district, West Bengal

Worldwide uncountable distressed people are agonizing dreadfully due to the acute problem of water scarcity. Women hold a very momentous position in the scenario of water resource management. The present study is focused to assess women’s participation and its effectiveness in water resource management at Arsha, Barabazar and Manbazar II blocks situated in the upper catchment area of Kangsabati river basin under Purulia district, West Bengal. In this aspect, 260 households from different villages located in the said three blocks have been surveyed. Target group analysis, focus group discussion, household survey with questionnaire have been applied to acquire first-hand data. Different statistical techniques such as ANOVA, hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis have been used to examine the effectiveness of women’s participation regarding water management. The study portrays that local people are not satisfied about the existing water service. The result shows that 60%, 58.95% and 54.12% women in surveyed villages under Arsha, Barabazar and Manbazar II blocks have participated in water collection, respectively. The study reveals that the high percentage of women, i.e., 60%, 58.96% and 54.12% women are vigorously involved in decision-making process of water utilization in Arsha, Barabazar and Manbazar II blocks, respectively. The statistical analysis establishes that women’s participation in water resource management is highly effective in the study region during dry season. But the women’s understating of issues connected with water management does not have an impact outside of the household activities due to their lack of technical skills. Therefore, women’s participation in water management should be prioritized in an organized way for promoting sustainable water resource management in the water-deficit region in Purulia district.