This story is from February 26, 2021

Academics discuss issue of groundwater overuse at Nalanda varsity workshop

Academics discuss issue of groundwater overuse at Nalanda varsity workshop
PATNA: Academics, farmers, panchayat representatives and NGO members took part in an international workshop on ‘Aquifer Storage and Recovery for Sustainable Agriculture’ organized by Nalanda University (NU) on its campus on Thursday. They discussed that the growing use of groundwater for wheat and rice farming was leading to its overexploitation in the region.

In her welcome speech, NU vice-chancellor (VC) Sunaina Singh said, “Access to groundwater, which is one of the most dependable sources for irrigation in most parts of the country, is becoming scarce due to its overexploitation. Such a situation is likely to impact agricultural productivity and national food security.”
The project on ‘Aquifer Storage and Recovery for Sustainable Agriculture’ is being supported by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).
While ACIAR-SDIP programme manager Tamara Jackson highlighted the need to understand the water-energy-food nexus, Basant Maheshwari from Western Sydney University spoke about the participation of farmers in groundwater management.
Peter Dillon, an expert in the field of managed aquifer recharge, discussed ways of analysing costs and benefits and identifying indicators of sustainability.
Aditi Mukherjee from International Water Management Institute-New Delhi discussed how electricity policies impacted groundwater use.
Ravish Chandra from Dr Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University-Pusa and Dipankar Saha, former member secretary of the Central Ground Water Board, also spoke on the occasion.
The two-day workshop will conclude on Friday.
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