Exploitation of groundwater resources is the only option that farmers have undertaken for increasing their water supplies to overcome the canal water scarcity and to get more control over irrigation water supplies. Tube-wells can be installed in areas having good potential of ground water having quality of water within recommended limits, said a spokesman of the Punjab Agriculture Department on Wednesday.
There are certain pockets of saline or brackish water both in irrigated and barani areas of Punjab where tube wells cannot be installed. In other places where water availability is not sure or negligible, this option is again not feasible. Hence information on water bearing formations, underground soil strata, quality of water and its potential is very important prior to drill a bore. Such information can be collected by conducting a survey with resistivity meter. The resistivity meter can be used successfully up to a depth of 600 feet to determine the water bearing formations and to differentiate between saline and fresh water aquifers. Resistivity survey can identify groundwater aquifer through survey with electric resistivity meter (ERM) for sinking of tube-well. The spokesman further disclosed that the department is facilitating farmers and resistivity survey practice has been stared in this regard on subsidized rates. A fee of Rs 3900 is being charged to conduct this survey and farmers can get complete report whether or not their soil is fit for tube-well installation.
Farmers can contact district agricultural field office (Engineering Wing) for conducting this test. The spokesman said that resistivity survey can enhance agriculture productivity and income and cropping intensity through exploration of ground water.
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