Depletion of underground water
Thursday, 09 July 2009 11:42
administrator
Source: Deccan Herald Date : 09.07.2009 | Depletion of underground water | | K Narasimha Murthy,DH News Service,Kolar: |
The district may have received heavy rains, but the problem of water scarcity remains. Residents desperate for water - both for drinking and agriculture- have dug thousands of wells, but to no avail.
| | Due to gross negligence, the people of this region have to depend on the rains for water to irrigate their fields, and on water tankers to supply their drinking water. Kolar district has the dubious distinction of overusing its ground water resources.
Over the last ten years, the number of borewells has risen by an average of five times; however, no attempts have been made to conserve the groundwater resources of the region. Which probably explains why no water has been found in several instances, even though the borewells were dug at least a thousand feet deep!
Borewells that have been dug recently have had to reach at least 1,250 feet below in order to get water, as per the information provided by Dr Shashil Namoshi, President of the Dr Nanjundappa Report Implementation Committee, who visited the spot last month.
Dr Namoshi had expressed his surprise and regret at the fact - for such a situation does not exist even in the drought-stricken areas of Gulbarga and Raichur.
A look at the facts and figures of the last 10 years:
In 1997, Kolar taluk had 4,670 borewell; by 2007, the number has increased by four times, to 16,389. Similarly, Bangarpet taluk, which had 2286 borewells in 1997, now has a total of 14,434 (a six-times increase). Malur had 4408 borewells ten years ago, but now has 12,197. The number of borewells in Mulbagal taluk has increased from 1381 to 12,431 (eleven times the original) over the last decade. Srinivasapur taluk, which had 3345 borewells in 1997, had 10,071 in 2007. The total number of borewells in the district has gone up to 65,522 from 16,180 borewells in 1997.
In the two-and-a-half years since 2007, approximately 20,000 borewells have been dug. The Department of Mines and Geology estimates that the district has a total of 75,000 borewells.
Unauthorised borewells
Now, the department does not suggest that borewells be dug. As a result, the number of unauthorised borewells being dug up is increasing steadily. The district now has a borewell for every five hectare.
According to the Ground water rejuvenation Committee, it is safe to use only 70 per cent of the underground resource and if its exceeds above 100 it is not safe. But Kolar is in danger as about 200 per cent of the underground water resource is being used here which poses a threat of non availability of water in the next few years.
“The rain water should be collected in lakes which will increase the underground water system. New borewells should not be dug for at least five years from now”, says senior Scientist A N Rajanna of the Department of Mines and Geology.
The funds allotted by the government, to the Zilla Panchayat, for supply of drinking water, have to be used. The project that will supply water from the River Hemavati needs to be implemented. If the resources are available, arrangements can be made to supply water from the reservoirs. But all this requires political will. In a district that lives, eats and breathes politics, is there no time to spare a thought to the water problem? | |
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Nagpur's 'VIP Road' gets NMC third degree
Thursday, 09 July 2009 10:51
administrator
Source: The Times of India Date : 09.07.2009 Nagpur's 'VIP Road' gets NMC third degree NAGPUR: While it is great that Nagpur Municipal Corporation is working overtime for improving water supply, the manner in which it is going around laying new pipes is anything but professional. A great example of how not to do this work is at so-called ‘VIP Road'. This stretch of East High Court Road between Alankar talkies square and traffic park corner, was created more than a decade ago to facilitate easy movement of VIPs. Right now, it is being given the third degree by the NMC. Despite the clear guidance from the NMC to repair or asphalt the road as soon as they complete the pipe laying work, the private agency that got the tender to implement the water supply augmentation project has failed to repair the road though they have already closed the surface. First they dug up the eastern half of the road and diverted both up and down traffic through western half for a couple of weeks. Then they dug up a smaller trench along the western half even as the trench along eastern side lay unrepaired. Now they have completely closed the western side putting both up and down traffic on eastern side. The trouble is that the original trench on this side is still unrepaired and covered with huge boulders. This means entire traffic now has to somehow manage on virtually through a single lane. Situation is made worse when huge city buses enter the road. They can barely pass each other in the available space. Presence of a large number of two-wheelers that try to overtake larger vehicles only adds to the chaos. Mukesh Bankar, a local resident, pointed out that the ditches left uncovered for long periods due to delay in the works often jeopardise the road safety of the motorists besides resulting in traffic snarls . With excavated earth piled up on either side of the road and with rain, the patch has turned into death trap for road users. On Tuesday morning, a minor accident on VIP road stopped the traffic for nearly 20 minutes. Besides, there were reports of many road users getting injured after falling into trenches dug up on city roads, claimed senior PI (traffic) Jameel Ahmed Ahmed, however, said the traffic police had already provided guidelines to NMC. It should barricade the area, provide sign-boards and also deploy workers during night hours to warn motorists of ongoing work. NMC has chosen to ignore them. City engineer (NMC) S Gaikwad said that the corporation had not started any fresh works. He further clarified that the tenders of laying pipes were given a year back so there is no question of stopping the work. He said the contractors had already been instructed to patch up the road immediately after laying the pipeline. He had no explanation about why this was not being done and what action would be taken against the contractor for this.
Despite PCMC drive, water hyacinth collects in Pavana river
Thursday, 09 July 2009 10:17
administrator
Source : The Times of India Date : 09.07.2009 Despite PCMC drive, water hyacinth collects in Pavana river PUNE: The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation's (PCMC) efforts to remove the water hyacinth from Pavana river do not seem to have brought about the desired results. A green carpet of water hyacinth has accumulated on the Pavana river at Pimpale Gurav. Water hyacinth is a weed that grows in the polluted water and increases the mosquito menace in the surrounding areas. A month ago the PCMC conducted a drive to remove the water hyacinth in the stretch of Pavana river that flows through the Military Dairy Farm area in Pimpri. This area lies upstream of Pimpale Gurav village. Raju Savale, a social activist said, "The PCMC should remove the water hyacinth from Pavana river in the summer and not in the monsoon as it gets washed away during the rains." Vikas Patil, founder, Indrayani Bachav Kruti Samiti, said that water hyacinth can be found in many areas in municipal limits like Bopkhel, Aundh bridge, Sangvi (Mula river) and in Kalewadi and Pimpale Gurav areas in Pavana river. "Two years ago the civic body had a special department of 40 labourers to remove the water hyacinth. These labourers were shifted to other departments so the PCMC does not have a regular workforce to remove the water hyacinth," said Patil. Speaking to TOI, R B Chavan, health executive officer said, "The PCMC has begun the drive to remove the water hyacinth from the Pavana river. The work has been completed in Pimpri, Chinchwad and Kalewadi areas and we will remove the water hyacinth from other areas also."
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