THE mavens are beginning to study and report on the water economy like never before. A recent study calls for pragmatic action to address groundwater exploitation in India. As the report mentions, groundwater has become the primary source of water today with widespread use of private wells, and over 60% of irrigated agriculture and 85% of drinking water supplies dependent on it.
Anantapur: Anantapur district is likely to face a severe drinking water problem as groundwater levels have depleted to 14 meters depth due to summer. Rural Water Supply (RWS) officials identified worst affected habitations and 228 pending drinking water schemes be completed in the summer.
IF CURRENT trends of acute groundwater use continue, 60% of all acquifers in India could run dry in 20 years or will be in a critical condition, a World Bank report launched on Friday said.
Recent geophysical studies report large-scale groundwater mining in the Indus-Ganga Basin. India can gain useful insights by examining American experience in adapting to unacceptable groundwater overdraft.
Dec. 6: The capital city and the state are facing acute shortage of clean potable fresh water and there are fears that the present resources will last only a few more years.
The groundwater level in the city has plummeted to 2.16 metres and this gives an idea of the severity of the problem.
Ronald Anil Fernandes, Mangalore, Nov 10, DH News Service:
Conserving water is one of the top most concerns of many states in India and Karnataka is no exception.
The lush green surroundings of Kairangala village near Konaje. . DH photoHowever, here is a classic case of official apathy wherein the authorities concerned have shown lackadaisical attitude in solving the issue.
Even as the Union Water Resources Ministry is planning to introduce a tighter regulatory mechanism to check indiscriminate use of ground water resources, peasant associations are set to protest the move as they feel it would 'eliminate small and marginal farmers'.
