In Bundelkhand (a semi-arid region spanning parts of India's Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh states, long associated with severe drought), Dalit residents say rising temperatures and shrinking water supplies are intensifying caste-based discrimination at shared handpumps — the last resort for many villages after government tap schemes failed. Women like Mamta, from the Valmiki community (among those historically classified as "untouchable" under India's caste hierarchy), report waiting hours for access while dominant-caste families take priority, with some upper-caste residents ritually "cleansing" pumps after Dalit use. Researchers warn that climate change is acting as a "threat multiplier," making a scarce resource even scarcer and inflaming inequalities that no amount of new infrastructure can fix without also confronting caste discrimination directly.