Bangladesh farmers: ‘War over water’ as wells run dry

In Bangladesh’s dry Barind region, decades of groundwater pumping have turned arid land into farmland. Now, the water system is collapsing. Farmers say the earth is hardening into cracked red clay under a harsh sun. Deep tube wells once allowed year-round crops like rice, wheat, and maize. But climate change and over-extraction are draining the aquifers. “I fear people will go to war over water,” one farmer told reporters. The Barind area, one of Bangladesh’s driest, relied on groundwater to transform its agriculture. Now, as wells run dry, rural life is disappearing underground. The crisis threatens food production and livelihoods across the region.