A village well dried up this year. A new factory opened nearby in the same year
A village well dried up this year. A new factory opened nearby in the same year. Many people say the factory dried the well. What else would you need to know before accepting that?
Who do you think is right? Pick one.
The answer: This year's rainfall and other causes
Why
The villagers have noticed something worth noticing, and it would be foolish to wave it away — a new heavy water user appearing the same year the well failed is a real reason for suspicion, and it may well turn out to be the cause. But two things happening in the same year is not yet proof that one caused the other. This year's rainfall may have been far below normal; more households may have sunk borewells; the well itself may simply be silted. Any of those would dry it with no factory at all. Test: compare this year's rainfall with previous years, count the new borewells, and check whether other wells with no factory near them also fell. If the neighbouring wells are fine and the rain was normal, the case against the factory becomes strong. Timing alone raises the question; it does not answer it.
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