As India's "granary" exhausts groundwater, farmers eye new crops


  • World
  • Monday, 17 Oct 2016

CHANDIGARH, India (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - It is hailed as India's granary, but the northwestern state of Punjab faces a drastic decline in agricultural output unless it halts the rapid depletion of its groundwater, experts warn.

Groundwater irrigates almost three-quarters of Punjab’s agricultural land, but groundwater levels are dropping by 40 to 50 cm (16 to 20 inches) a year, according to Rajan Aggarwal, head of the soil and water engineering department at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU).

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