-The Hindu Rice cultivation in Punjab, which thrived in the past due to the easy availability of water resources and free supply of electricity to farmers, is under considerable strain now. Vikas Vasudeva examines how overexploitation has made Groundwater not only scarce but also increasingly alkaline. Gurmeet Singh, 60, a tall land-owning farmer in Bhattiwal Khurd village, which is located in Punjab’s Sangrur district, has yet again planted the water-guzzling paddy crop...
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Solar pump scheme needs serious relook -Chandra Bhushan
-The Financial Express The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) recently rolled out a massive solar-pump programme called the PM-KUSUM scheme. The scheme has a target to set up 25,750 megawatts (MW) solar capacity by 2022 to power irrigation pumps, with central financial support of Rs 34,422 crore. It includes installation of 1.75 million off-grid and 1 million on-grid solar pumps as well as 10,000 MW of solar capacity in rural...
More »Solar Pumps Are Still Pumps, Pose Risk to Groundwater -Rosamma Thomas
-Newsclick.in With the union government now giving a huge push to the use of solar pumps for extracting Groundwater for irrigation, the problem of depletion gets further compounded. Buldhana (Maharashtra): As a large part of India reels under floods this monsoon, there might seem little reason to dwell on Groundwater depletion. Yet, government policy might be putting the already over-used Groundwater at greater risk. In 2012, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural...
More »India will soon run out of water; 'extremely high' crisis level: Report
-PTI * India, ranked 13 on Aqueduct's list of 'extremely highly' water stressed countries * 'Water stress is the biggest crisis no one is talking about,' said President and CEO of the World Resources Institute Washington: India is among the 17 countries, which are a home to a quarter of the world’s population, facing "extremely high" water stress, close to "Day Zero" conditions when the taps run dry, according to a report unveiled...
More »The roots of India's deepening rural water crisis -Sneha Alexander & Vishnu Padmanabhan
-Livemint.com Erratic monsoon rains and skewed farm incentives have led to the growing Groundwater crisis, impacting farm incomes and availability of drinking water India’s monsoon provides relief from oppressive heat but, more importantly, it provides sustenance for millions. A timely and sufficient monsoon is a critical input for farmers but increasingly, because of climate change, the monsoon is becoming less reliable. Exacerbating this is a set of policies which encourage water wastage,...
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