Ahmedabad: Mehsana today is one of the worst-affected districts in this country when it comes to fast-water thinning.
Mehsana, Ahmedabad’s neighbor, suffered because the exploitation of ground water remained unchecked.
The situation has led the Gujarat Air Resources Development Corporation (GWRDC) to urge 2,200 land surface gauges and the same number of water quality testing kits to assess the existence of fluoride and arsenic.
Urgency is not without reason.
A recent study by the Institute of Indian remote sensing, ISRO, Dehradun; IIT-Dhanbad; And the remote sensing department and GIS, University of Jammu, published on February 6 this year painted a bleak image.
The study said that Mehsana Regency faced critical problems with 151.17% of ground water which was exploited in eight district talaskas since 2004.
The first alarm on the country’s excessive ground water called almost three decades ago in Mehsana, Saurashtra Coastal, and Kutch at Gujarat.
Warning also given for Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, Kolar in Karnataka, Jaipur in Rajasthan, Chandigarh in Haryana and Punjab, and Dewas at Madhya Pradesh.
“Equipment to measure groundwater level is being built under the Atal Bhu Jojana launched by the central government in December 2019.
The prolonged Covid period has delayed the project,” said a senior GWRDC official.
“We also install rain gauges throughout the district to reconnect rainfall and ground water.” It is necessary to mention that changes in groundwater storage (GWS) between 2003 and 2007 varies from 60mm / year to 72 mm / year.
“Thinning GWS has started earlier in Mehsana because it does not have cash because they need a lot of water,” the official said.
“There has been a lack of water for commercial plants such as cumin, isabgul, and wheat.” In 24 villages between Vijapur and Mansa, water is available only around 1,200 feet; That number is 600 feet before.
Farmers are forced to get out of the farm and they cannot find work.
Produce unsustainable prices and farmers are thus angry at the government.
Bhu Jal Atal Project, supported by World Bank Funding, focuses on drawing a framework for participatory groundwater management and brings behavioral changes at the community level for sustainable resource management.
Seven countries were chosen for the scheme: Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.
In these countries, 8,350 grams of panthayats in 78 districts are being considered.