Ambivalence about groundwater

There has been a huge development in the use of groundwater in India over the last fifty year. This development has had numerous environmental consequences, pointing up the vulnerability of the users drying up of resource and deterioration in the quality of water. This text analyses the wording and picturing of groundwater, a resource almost out of sight, by a specific instrument, The Hindu. This journal, one of the most read Indian newspapers, contributes to make these waters more visible and promotes their conservation. Yet articles also justify over-exploitation. Indeed, we identified four types of qualifications of groundwater associated with management measures: (a) endangered heritage whose access must be regulated, (b) limited resource that must be optimized, (c) issue of survival whose access must be ensured and (d) source of emancipation that must be acknowledged. The analysis advocates careful consideration of the multi-valence of groundwater and compromises between preservation and necessity of using it.