The Hindu : New Delhi News : As Metro comes up, groundwater levels in Delhi go down

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jul 15, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

As Metro comes up, groundwater levels in Delhi go down

Anjali Dhal Samanta

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Metro may have got an enthusiastic response from the Capital's citizens but the construction of the Metro corridor has been a strain on the groundwater resources of the city. The groundwater levels registered a drop during the construction of the corridor and are returning to normal only now after the completion of work. At certain places, the levels are still far below normal and may never get back to the pre-construction levels.

According to the Central Ground Water Board, the water level at Rail Bhavan observation station was 5.8 metres below ground level in January this year. It stood then at 12.09 metres below ground level. While this marks a noticeable drop in the groundwater level of the area, according to CGWB officials, after completion of work, groundwater levels are slowly returning to normal. Observations reveal that in May this year the level was 11.29 metres below ground level -- registering an 80 cm increase since January.

Similarly, the observation well near Old Delhi railway station has registered a drop of 4 metres in groundwater level since November 2003. At Connaught Place, groundwater had dipped by around 2 metres during the construction period. While in January 2001 the water level at Rafi Marg was 7.39 metres below ground level, in January 2005 the level dropped to 14.85 metres below ground level -- a decline of over 7 metres.

However, according to CWGB officials, this decline is a temporary phenomenon. "There is a drop in groundwater levels during construction of the corridor. Since there are parts of it that are underground, whenever water starts flooding, it has to be pumped out. But once the work has been completed, the groundwater recoups slowly. It is already restoring to normal levels. However, it might never reach the pre-construction levels,'' they say.

Interestingly, there has been very little impact of the construction of the Metro Rail Corridor at the Inter-State Bus Terminal and Majnu Ka Tila observation wells along the Kashmere Gate-Delhi University section of the underground Metro Corridor. This has been attributed to the proximity of the area to the Yamuna flood plain and availability of potential aquifers along the river.

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