India depleting key water source, study finds

Researcher: Farming collapse and severe drinking water shortages possible

NEW DELHI – Excessive irrigation and the unrelenting thirst of 114 million people are causing groundwater levels in northern India to drop dramatically, a problem that could lead to severe water shortages, according to a study released Wednesday.

Levels have dropped as much as a foot a year between 2002 and 2008, for a total of 26 cubic miles of water that vanished

The study comes as India’s struggles with water have become a major political issue. The problem reaches across the country’s vast class divide, touching everyone from residents of elite neighborhoods where the taps regularly go dry to poor farmers in desperate need of irrigation to grow their crops.

Giving free electricity to farmers