RANSIH KALAN. India Every year, Swarn Singh sows rice in his fields, knowing that the thirsty crop is draining northern India’s Punjab of its groundwater. But Singh says he has no choice, adding, “We’d rather plant crops that need less water.”
RANSIH KALAN. India — Every year, Swarn Singh sows rice in his fields, knowing that the thirsty crop is draining northern India’s Punjab of its groundwater. But Singh says he
Water crisis at the heart of India’s farm protests
30 Apr 2021
Aniruddha Ghosal,
Associated Press
Every year, Swarn Singh sows rice in his fields, knowing that the thirsty crop is draining northern India’s Punjab of its groundwater. But Singh says he has no choice, adding, “We’d rather plant crops that need less water.”
The 32-year-old farmer and school teacher lives in Ransih Kalan village in the state’s Moga district, where green fields surrounding its wide roads and large houses belie the reality that the region is among India’s most parched and its once-prosperous agricultural system is now broken.
RANSIH KALAN. India (AP) Every year, Swarn Singh sows rice in his fields, knowing that the thirsty crop is draining northern India’s Punjab of its groundwater. But Singh says he has no choice, adding, “We’d rather plant crops that need less water.”
The 32-year-old farmer and school teacher lives in Ransih Kalan village in the state’s Moga district, where green fields surrounding its wide roads and large houses belie the reality that the region is among India’s most parched and its once-prosperous agricultural system is now broken.
India’s water crisis looms over an agrarian crisis that has been brewing for decades. At its heart is a conundrum: the government has been subsidizing the cultivation of rice in northern India, but such water-intensive crops have dramatically lowered the groundwater table.
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