A surprising finding was that there was a difference in
the volume of water available in the Main village compared
to the Harijan colony, which was both perceived by the residents
of the village and measured by individual water usage.
The reasons for the shortage were not apparent, but sociocultural
factors are likely to have a strong role. Traditionally,Harijan colonies and the non-Harijan areas in India have had separate water sources. In this study and in observations in other villages in this region, not only the sources of water to the two sections of the village were found to be different, but also the distribution networks had no interconnections (Prof. Muliyil, CHAD, Vellore, India, personal communication). The difference in supply is likely to be a reflection of the continuation of historical segregation of upper and lower caste people and inequalities that have remained uncorrected.