In India, clean water is out of reach for many
▻https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2019/03/paul-salopek-out-of-eden-walk-india-water
Northern India embraces a sprawling network of waters, from the muddy tributaries of the Indus in the west to the banks of the sacred Ganges coiling along its central plains and the miles-wide currents of the Brahmaputra in the east. Creeks, canals, wetlands, dams, and swollen torrents help irrigate the most populous democracy on Earth. Yet this river-etched heartland is the scene of one of the most dire water crises today.
Last year, a government study revealed that nearly half India’s population—some 600 million people—ekes by on scarce or polluted supplies of water. As many as 200,000 Indians die annually from the effects of water contamination. And it’s been projected that more than 20 major cities—Delhi, Bangalore, and Hyderabad among them—will zero out their groundwater stores in less than two years.