The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Ryots still stick to old methods to spot water points

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 30, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Others

Ryots still stick to old methods to spot water points

By S. Ramu

ALAIR (NALGONDA DT.), MAY 29. Take a Y-shaped stick of Cassia auriculata tree --`thangedu' in local parlance -- and walk as slow as possible in the field where you want to sink a bore. Stop where the stick bends towards the ground and drill pipes to get water. Keep a bare coconut on your palm (remember, the stalk side should be in your opposite direction) and walk in your field. You must drill pipes where the stalk side points the skyward direction. If you don't like these techniques, approach a local pundit with your horoscope and he will tell you where exactly you could sink a bore for a stream of water.

These are some of the traditional techniques farmers have been adopting since long and the success rate is not at all encouraging. This is eventually resulting in heavy losses for them. Unfortunately, the Groundwater Department never takes a place in the farmers' exercise. "Most of farmers do not believe the fact that water availably depends on Hydro-geological factors such as water table conditions and the water-bearing properties of underground rock formations,'' says the Deputy Director, Groundwater, B. Naga Rajeswara Rao.

The official, who experimented with the traditional methods being followed by farmers, argues that `by chance' some of the bores yield water prompting others to follow the traditionally ways blindly. However, the Groundwater Department is also unable to spot the exact water points. "It is true that our success rate is 70 per cent despite adoption of universal methods. It is due to lack of homogeneity in the rock formation. If our failure rate is 30 per cent, it is much more when farmers adopt their own techniques,'' he says.

Of the 64 basins the department tested, five are already over exploited in the district. Gundlapally, Marriguda, Chandur, Rajapet and Alair mandals fall in this category. Nine basins -- Challur, Gundala, Gummadavally, Yarrapahad, Ramannapet, Ammanbole, S.Gowraram, Suryapet and Gurrampode -- have been identified as critical basins. While there are 23 semi critical basins, only 27 remain safe basins.

"Farmers should keep in mind that the present groundwater scenario in the district is grim. As many as 57 villages falling in 11 mandals are identified as over-developed (that means the groundwater utilisation is more than 100 per cent),'' according to Mr. Naga Rajeswara Rao.

Expressing serious concern over the failure of borewells, S. Eko Narayana of the Ryothu Seva Samithi said on Friday that there should be a ban on sinking of borewells by individuals. He feels that there should be an appropriate mechanism with the active involvement of geologists to solve this problem.

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