Groundwater depletion in the Gangetic aquifers of north India is possibly causing a reduction in the base flow of the mega Himalayan river, leading to it drying up during summer, according to a study.

The research, undertaken by three scientists, including Abhijit Mukherjee, Associate Professor of Geology and Geophysics at IIT-Kharagpur, demonstrated quantitatively that the present phenomenon of the Ganges drying up in the summer months is possibly also dependent on the groundwater depletion in the Gangetic aquifers of north India because of extensive groundwater pumping.