Christian organization GFA World has called for Christians around the world to pray as a drought in southern India puts hundreds of millions at risk.
GFA World, formerly known as Gospel for Asia, says that as many as 600 million people – almost half of India’s population – face acute water shortages with the city of Chennai, capital of the state of Tamil Nadu, only prevented from running out of water entirely when rain arrived on 15th July.
The drought in the country’s south – which started last year when monsoon rains failed to arrive and was exacerbated by delayed rain this year – comes as monsoon rains lashed the country’s north-east and neighboring Nepal earlier this month, claiming more than 200 lives and affecting some 10 million people.
But in Chennai, the four main reservoirs have run dry and the government has been forced to bring in water by trucks and trains. Prices for water from private contractors has more than doubled since May, according to GFA World.
The organization’s founder, Dr. KP Yohannan, said the crisis had reached a “desperation point”, particularly in Chennai, the country’s sixth largest city.
“Pastors and those in their communities are struggling every day to get enough water for their basic needs,” he said. “The water trucks come only once every two days – and this puts enormous pressure on families desperate for drinking water…”
SEE THE ARTICLE ON SIGHTMAGAZINE.COM.AU
Read the GFA Special Report — Dying of Thirst: The Global Water Crisis — The Crucial Quest for Access to Clean Water.
“They wake up each morning knowing they must fight to survive.” — Safe drinking water is something most of us take for granted. But for millions of people, the only water they have is contaminated. And millions more are at risk of having no water at all and people are dying of thirst.
