India suffers from water shortage for cultivation and drinking despite the fact that many big rivers, some of them perennial rivers, flow through some parts of India. In the south there are the Krishna, Godavari, Cauvery, Tamaraparani, Perilya and other rivers. In the north there are the mighty Ganges, Brahmaputra, Indus, Mahanadi and other rivers. Much of the water goes to the sea unused. Though we have much natural resources like water, minerals, abundantly growing crops and so on, we still suffer, because our knowledge of utilising these natural resources to the maximum advantage is inadequate.
The two States that suffer acute water scarcity sometimes are Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The water reservoirs in many towns and cities were meant for a small population. Even the drains for carrying sewage water were planned and built for a small population. With the increasing population the water available is inadequate to meet the needs of the people. Investigation should be done whether more reservoirs could be built to augment the supply of drinking water to the people.
When summer is quite severe sometimes what was once a large reservoir of water shrinks to a pool. Both human beings and animals suffer for want of water.
If it rains it rains and rains and there is a flood. Houses built of thatch are submerged in the water. The cultivated crops under deep water rot and perish. When there is inadequate yield of crops there is famine. Rice, wheat, raga and sugar cane are scarce. In fact there is scarcity of every type of grain.
There are two extremes in India. The nation goes without water or there is heavy rain resulting in flood.
While the north suffers from flood