by Lola Nayar and Jyotika Sood

F

armers in Kurukshetra’s

Thanesar, a paddy-growing region

of Haryana, are faced with a

peculiar dilemma. Over the past

few weeks, acres and acres of

standing paddy have been

destroyed by flood water from the

Ghaggar and markanda, two of the

main rivers in the state. Gurmel singh,

42, for one, is at his wit’s end. With

depleting groundwater levels, the

government has been asking farmers

to switch to other crops which con-

sume less water. “Our paddy fields are

under two-three feet of water. The crop

has been destroyed. What other crop

would survive here?” he asks, survey-

ing his hard labour going waste within

days. Floods have occurred here earlier

too, but not with such ferocity. Crisis

on the surface, crisis below the surface,

Kurukshetra’s water woes now has

a paradoxical character.

Water

of

india

It’s official: the worst

water crisis in our

national history is upon

us now. But we also see

signs of a fight to save us

from a dry future.

cover story

30 OutlOOk 5 august 2019