In India's water-stressed villages, Modi seeks a tap for every home

The ambitious project to meet a dire need shows Prime Minister Narendra Modi's strengths and helps explain his popularity despite a weakened economy

The pipes are laid, the taps installed and the village tank is under construction — all promising signs that, come spring, Girja Ahriwar will get water at her doorstep and finally shed a lifelong burden.

“I go out and put the jerrycans in the queue at around 5 a.m. and wait there with the children,” Ms. Ahriwar, a mother of three who lives in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, said about her routine of fetching from the village hand pump. “Sometimes it could take five or six hours. I have to stay there because if I leave, someone else