'We cannot drink data': Google's $15 billion India hub faces a water and wildlife revolt
Google's biggest-ever India investment — a $15 billion data-center campus built with the Adani Group in Visakhapatnam — is facing street protests and court challenges as construction accelerates, Reuters reports. The city of 2.5 million already receives about 410 million liters of water a day against a demand of 480 million, and public-interest petitions say the site sits 860 meters from the Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary, home to leopards and pangolins. Google says the project follows applicable laws and will use advanced air cooling to protect local water supplies.
Why it mattersThe data-center backlash went global in a single summer: Texas froze grid hookups, Nashville reached for eminent domain, and now children in Visakhapatnam march behind banners reading 'We cannot drink data.' AI infrastructure is becoming a local political issue on three continents — and water, not electricity, is emerging as its sharpest constraint.
▶ Related video: The Hidden Cost of Google's $15 Billion AI Data Center in Vizag
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