Clart: the go-to app for water-poor Indians

A file photo of Indian children collecting drinking water from a tube-well in a village. Data shows groundwater is used faster than it is replenished in most parts of India – a formula known as ‘recharge’ whether the water is topped up by nature or design. — AFP

CHENNAI, India: Before Riki Emiyo scrolls through social media, he checks his smartphone for progress on water conservation projects – less fun, but of far more use as winter descends on his parched Indian village.

“Every year, when the monsoon rain stops, all the water disappears,” said Emiyo from Kairang village in the Jaintia hills of Meghalaya state in northeast India.