Shallow Aquifers

Advanced Center for Water Resources Development and Management (ACWADAM) is
a not-for-profit organization working in earth sciences applications, particularly in
groundwater resources management. Know more about ACWADAM here

1999 was an interesting real estate year for Mehdiganj village in Uttar Pradesh. Someone began buying up land adjoining a soft drink factory owned by the Parle Company. They also began buying land from the farmers except the farmers had no idea as to whom they were selling the land to. As the boundary wall rose up, problems arose too.

Mile after mile of saline lands line the Delhi-Rohtak-Bhiwani stretch of the highway. Here, the land wasn't always saline, it became that way thanks to canal irrigation. Farmers have used extensive surface water, which has led to an increase in groundwater levels. This leads to the twin problem of waterlogging and salinity.

The theme of this year’s World Water Day was “energy-water nexus”. It was almost as if the topic was chosen keeping Western Uttar Pradesh in mind because the conflict between water and energy users in agriculture and industry has heightened here in the recent past.

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Dr. Himanshu Kulkarni is the Executive Director of the Advanced Center for Water Resources Development and Management (ACWADAM), a non-profit organisation in Pune. It is a premier education and research institution, which facilitates work on groundwater management through action research programmes and training.

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The Nilgiris have undergone an incredible amount of change in the last 10 years. Coonoor, an area well endowed with natural resources, is the second largest tourist destination here. However, over the last year (2012-13), the town has been reeling under a water crisis [1].

The 200 odd residents of Didakhedi, a sleepy village just 13 kms from Sehore town in Madhya Pradesh, never had adequate water. Two decades ago, most of the farming in the village was done during the monsoons. The village had no electricity and a lone diesel pump operated the shallow dug wells to irrigate some lands during the winter.