Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Groundwater depletion in Punjab: Time for a major policy overhaul -Balsher Singh Sidhu

Groundwater depletion in Punjab: Time for a major policy overhaul -Balsher Singh Sidhu

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Jun 17, 2020   modified Modified on Jun 18, 2020

-India Water Portal

The time for quick fixes is over; a comprehensive policy overhaul is urgently needed to impede the juggernaut of Punjab's groundwater depletion.

Punjab, a small state in northwest India, derives its name from the Persian words panj (five) and b (water), meaning the "land of five rivers". Ironically, this state is now regularly in the news for its rapidly depleting groundwater levels. The most recent government report on Punjab's groundwater resources notes that groundwater extraction has increased from 149% (of naturally available recharge) in 2013 to 165% in 2018, and the state has maximum percentage of wells showing groundwater depletion among all states in India.

As alarming as this sounds, it is not news to anyone, be it researchers in universities, bureaucrats in secretariats, or farmers in the fields. Groundwater levels have been falling swiftly for many years now, and the need of the hour is to diagnose the root cause of the malady instead of focusing on the symptoms.

The seeds of the unsustainable groundwater depletion being observed today were sown with India's Green Revolution in 1960s. If measured in terms of food production, the Green Revolution was a stellar success story that increased national crop output and transformed India into a net exporter of food crops due to rapid growths in crop yields, especially wheat and rice across the northwestern states. The success of India's Green Revolution is deeply intertwined with swift and widespread development of groundwater irrigation in this region.

Please click here to read more.


India Water Portal, 17 June, 2020, https://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/groundwater-depletion-punjab-time-major-policy-overhaul-0


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close