India Water Crisis Threatens Hundreds of Millions — Gospel for Asia Requests Prayer
WILLS POINT, TX — Christian missions agency Gospel for Asia (GFA, www.gfa.org) today called for Christians to pray as South India remains in the grip of a critical water shortage that threatens hundreds of millions of lives. Critical water shortages have ‘reached point of no return’ as mega-city Chennai fights thirst.
As many as 600 million people — almost half of India’s 1.3 billion population — face acute water shortage, and experts warn some cities could run out of water entirely by 2020. For GFA’s special report on the global water crisis, visit www.gfa.org/press/water-crisis
India is prone to cycles of devastating drought and severe flooding. Due to weather patterns in different parts of the country, some areas suffer drought while other regions experience floods at the same time. This month, torrential monsoon rains lashed part of northeast India and Nepal with flash floods claiming more than 200 lives and affecting 10 million people.
The mega-city of Chennai in Southeast India had virtually run out of water until rain on July 15 raised hopes of relief for the city’s nine million residents, who have been largely dependent on water shipped in via trucks and trains.
“Every day that the rains delay, the crisis deepens,” said Gospel for Asia founder Dr. KP Yohannan. “We’ve reached a desperation point, and the people of Chennai are crying out for rain. I am asking our friends around the world to please pray and intercede on behalf of those in Chennai.” GFA workers in Texas have been praying together to ask God to send more rain.
Despite the recent rain, with the monsoon failing to come on time, the city’s four main reservoirs have completely dried up and wells have also run dry in the country’s sixth largest city. Desperate residents are lining up for hours in the heat, hoping to fill their plastic buckets with water shipped in by a fleet of government-run trucks. The few who can afford to buy water from private sellers have seen the price more than double since May.
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