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As India water and power dry up, the people revolt: Hundreds of times a week across the nation, frustrated residents block roads and demand resources, but there’s simply not enough to go around

Posted by: Maven on August 13, 2009 at 10:18 pm

From the Los Angeles Times:

“Reporting from Viratnagar, India – The rage surged through the crowd, mixing with the heat, the sweat and the frustration to create a volatile stew, as several hundred locals incensed over power and water shortages blocked the main Alwar Road here Wednesday.

Most residents said they hadn’t seen a lightbulb’s worth of energy come through their wires in the last 60 hours, and this after suffering protracted cuts for the last month. With no power to pump well water, some said they had to walk miles to find a hand pump. Others said they were paying up to a third of their meager incomes to price-gouging drivers of water trucks.

Localized eruptions like this one, most unreported, occur hundreds of times each week across India, where this year the situation has been made worse by unusually light monsoon rains. The states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar and Rajasthan are among the hardest-hit areas.

Experts say the shortages could be the result of global warming or natural cycles. That hasn’t provided much solace to farmers like these in eastern Rajasthan as they watch their crops die, their livelihoods wither, their children go thirsty. …”

Read more from the Los Angeles Times by clicking here.

August 13, 2009 · Filed Under International Water Issues

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