Punjab's Groundwater Crisis: Over-Exploitation Threatens Irrigation and Drinking Water Supplies

Punjab is fast running out of groundwater. The main reason for this is not lack of rain, but the ever-increasing exploitation of groundwater for rice-based farming and irrigation. A 20-year study by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi has made this important revelation. According to the research, many parts of the state may face a serious crisis of irrigation as well as drinking water in the coming years if the current pattern of farming and irrigation systems are not changed.