In the past, water carriers used cured hides of animals to carry water. However, with the invention of plastic, these animal hides have been replaced by bottles and jars of plastic. Though the number of bhistees has decreased a lot as compared to the past, they still form a major supply-source of water. Many factors like the receding groundwater resources, polluted surface water, erosion in the watershed and inability to access piped water has kept a sizable population of the country still dependent on these water carriers.  |