Article: Troubled water: between the extremes of flood and drought, India is heading for a water crisis. But, argues Rainer Hoerig, the mightiest dam-building exercise the country has ever attempted is not the solution.

On 26 July 2005 the Met Office forecast was for 'heavy rain' in India's biggest city. Down came the worst deluge Mumbai has ever witnessed. With an incredible 944 millimetres of rain in 24 hours, roads and urban railtracks flooded, leaving hundreds of thousands of commuters stranded. All long-distance trains were cancelled and both airports were closed. The power supply was switched off and mobile phones went dead. The city of 15 million people was cut off from the outside world. On their way home, hundreds of people got washed away trying to cross swirling floods. Many drowned in open gutters hidden below the murky water. According to the official count, 736 citizens ...

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