Nearly dry Nallurahalli Lake in Bengaluru. The city gets plenty of rain, but it did not properly adapt as its soaring population strained traditional water sources. — Photos: ©2024 The New York Times Company
THE water tankers seeking to fill their bellies bounced past the dry lakes of India’s booming technology capital. Their bleary-eyed drivers waited in line to suck what they could from wells dug deep into dusty lots between app offices and apartment towers named for bougainvillea – all built before sewage and water lines could reach them.
At one well, where neighbours lamented the loss of a mango grove, a handwritten logbook listed the water runs of a crisis: 3.15 and 4.10 one morning; 12.58, 2.27 and 3.29 the next.
