Ground water levels plummet in Andhra Pradesh: Farmers in distress dig deeper for water

Article Courtesy : Down to Earth

Author :

M Suchitra

The study was carried out between November 2010 and November 2011, in which all the 23 districts were surveyed. While the water table in the state as a whole has dropped by an average of 2.53 metre, it has dropped by 3.88 metre in Hyderabad city. Prakasam tops the list of districts where water levels have declined steeply. Water level has dropped by 5.32 metre below the earlier levels in this district. Ranga Reddy ranks second in the list with a drop of 5.28 metre in its water table. Among the three regions in the state, Telangana has been worst hit, followed by coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema.

50,000 new bore wells a year

"Along with shortage in rainfall, exploitation of ground water for irrigation, drinking and other purposes are steadily increasing,” says Gopal. The state has more than 2.9 million borewells, and on an average 50,000 new borewells are being installed every year in the state.

While in November 2010, in Hyderabad city, ground water was available at a depth of 5.2 metre, the water table dipped to 8.90 metre in November 2011. Though shortage in rainfall could be partly blamed for this, the increasing concrete cover in the city and the silt formation in the water bodies are also reducing the efficiency with which ground water is recharged, says Gopal. Almost all of the tanks and lakes in the city are laden with silt and other debris.

Vicious cycle

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