Srinivas Mudrakartha

This paper presented at the International Symposium on Artificial Recharge (ISAR-4) Adelaide, Australia describes the attempts made by VIKSAT at experimentation with artificial recharge technique in a peri-urban area called Sargasan in Gandhinagar taluka, Gujarat.

Ground water as a dependable source and its increasing extraction for various uses in India is reflected in the drastic lowering of water levels leading to “local” draw downs. The efficacy of surface water bodies such as tanks, lakes and canals as a means of natural recharge to the ground water has drastically reduced simply because the local water levels are too deep. The need of the hour therefore is for artificial recharge systems that convey the fresh rainwater to the “aquifer”.

Analyzing the many aspects of drought - a paper from VIKSAT
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This paper by VIKSAT presented at the Regional Workshop on Sustainable Livelihoods and Drought Management in South Asia: Issues, Alternatives and Futures at Islamabad, Pakistan from October 27-30, 2002 gives a detailed account of the approach adopted by VIKSAT in drought in Gujarat. This case study attempted to provide a set of guidelines that would be useful not only for implementationn during drought relief activities alone, but also towards drought proofing. The study found that working with people’s institutions both at village and at a regional/taluka level goes a long way in planning, implementation and tackling drought on a long term.

This chapter from the book 'The Agricultural Groundwater Revolution: opportunities a

A variety of socio-technical actions have been carried out by the movement participants, which have resulted in increased agrarian-based livelihood incomes, primarily through increased groundwater availability and with it an improved quality of life. The paper identifies the key drivers of the recharging movement and the factors that have sustained it. 

This paper published in the Economic and Political Weekly describes the case of river Khari in Gujarat, which faced increasing amount of pollution due to the discharge of industrial effluents in the river and the efforts made  to solve the pollution problem.

The phenomenon of pollution started in the 1970s when Naroda, Odhav, Vatva and Narol on the eastern periphery of Ahmedabad city were promoted by the government. While there were zones for industries according to the type of waste generated, environmental considerations were overlooked and no provision was made for the safe disposal of industrial effluents. Most of the factories in the industrial estates were water intensive and all of them discharged effluents into the nearby Kharicut canal, which flows into the Khari river, a tributary of the Sabarmati. As the canal remained dry throughout the year, the government ignored its (mis)use.

Saurashtra is the peripheral region along Coastal Gujarat. It is composed of a Central basaltic plateau that rises 100 to 200m above mean sea level with an average annual rainfall of about 600 mm. The rainfall is concentrated in a few days during which the incident rainfall leads to flashfloods draining into the sea.