https://apnews.com/52a57d80d1dcb85f508cfd5f80120870

RANSIH KALAN. India (AP) — Every year, Swarn Singh sows rice in his fields, knowing that the thirsty crop is draining northern India's Punjab of its groundwater. But Singh says he has no choice, adding, “We'd rather plant crops that need less water."

The 32-year-old farmer and school teacher lives in Ransih Kalan village in the state's Moga district, where green fields surrounding its wide roads and large houses belie the reality that the region is among India's most parched and its once-prosperous agricultural system is now broken.