As on July 12, Jharkhand has received 14 per cent more rain than the average for the same period in monsoon. However for all the right reasons, the underground water level in Ranchi and other prominent areas of Jharkhand is still out of the reach of households and residential apartments. The cause — water table receded by another 50-metre in just one-year and almost by two-times in five years at different geographical points.According to independent experts of underground water investigation, Kanke has been the worst-affected area where the water table has dropped to around 750-feet in 2015 compared to 550-feet in 2010 whereas in last one-year the minimum drop has been observed to be 52-feet (calculated in June) near the Birsa Munda Airport. If the findings at one geographical point are extrapolated, underground water table has receded to around 50-feet in Dhanbad and on the outskirts of Jamshedpur.
“Time has come to face the consequences of overexploitation. If anyone who wants to go underneath the surface in search of water then he must be prepared to go down to 1,000-feet to fetch underground water in areas like Kanke Road,” said Birendra Singh, who offers consultancy for digging borewells, adding “the reading has been taken with the help of electrical resistivity technique”.Notably, the electrical resistivity technique uses direct current to record availability of water beneath the surface.The exploitation-replenishment mismatch and continuously receding water table is the cause that most of the borewells across Ranchi are still dry despite excess rain so far and is also the reason for an early onset of water woes in residential areas. But the problem is compounded by the geological conditions of Jharkhand, poor water supply and no compliance with regard to recharging underground water table.
“Jharkhand’s geology has never been good for underground water. Water can be found in cracks and fissures only, around 45-50 per cent rain water is lost in run up, rainfall is erratic due to cutting of trees, recharge zones have shrunk, and underground water is overexploited in the absence of proper water supply. Factors like these have led to drying up of underground water resources early,” said Geologist, Nitish Priyadarshi.Measurement of underground water table by borewell experts suggests the table has gone down by six-times since 2002 and the ever receding water table would keep borwells dry for about a quarter of a year in Ranchi and other overexploited parts of Jharkhand.
“Earlier boring and wells used to dry towards the end of April but now it starts drying from March,” added Priyadarshi.Meanwhile, rainfall which is the only hope for the rejuvenation of underground water resources is likely to be scant for few days as the Indian Meteorological Department predicted intermittent showers for next few days.“We can expect heavy rains after 3-4 days but for now there will be intermittent showers due to local conditions,” said Forecast Officer at IMD’s office at Ranchi, U Srivastava