Despite heavy rains, potable water scarce in NE

Aizawl, Aug 6 (UNI) Despite heavy rainfall and rich bio-diversity, the North Eastern states of the country are yet to harness their natural resources.

The reason is quite evident as the region receives some 2000 mm to 4000 mm rains every year compared to national average of 850 mm and still faces scarcity in potable water.

Indian Council for Agricultural Research's (ICAR) latest findings stated though NE states receive adequate rainfall almost round the year, only about 18 per cent land gets water from irrigation. And except from some areas of hilly terrain, about 20 per cent of the total irrigation resources is from the ground water.

The research also revealed the use of ground water in the region still remains unscientific.

Even though there is a sustained effort from scientists and environmental activists to prevent misuse of water and to harvest rainwater, a huge amount of monsoon water is going down the drains.

The ICAR scientists from NE Region Research Complex have expressed concern over the huge and continuous wastage of water across the NE region. ''NE is blessed with rich bio-diversity but potable water crisis has emerged as a major issue for the region.

Population and economic growth, rapid urbanisation have put enormous pressure on its freshwater resources,'' Dr M Datta, principal scientist of ICAR, NE region told UNI.

Referring to the latest report of Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), Dr Datta pointed out the groundwater sources will reach saturation point by 2025 in at least 15 states of India if the current rate of ground water extraction continued.

''And a few states of NE will definitely be the victim of the crisis,'' he said.

Mr D Das Choudhury from Agrometrology department of ICAR underlined that NE states receive good monsoon rain but due to inadequate infrastructure and initiative almost 50 per cent of the rain alongwith the top soil is washed away.

''Crop production in this year especial in NE was hampered due to short rainfall in July but average rainfall in the region was almost okay till date,'' he added.

Adding to the woes to the current scenario in the region, North Eastern Space Application Centre (NESAC) also warned the NE states to ''maintain ecological balance'', predicting a ''major natural catastrophe is due in the region and it can hit at any moment in any form''.

NESAC Director K C Bhattacharjee opined ''it is urgent to conserve rain water and maximise the storage of water at surface level so that human casualty due to lanslide and flash flood is minimised.'' Growing trend of forest encroachment, poor planning, population explosion, contamination of ground water and harnessing minerals have been posing serious threat to the region, which increased the risk of natural disaster, Mr Bhattacharjee said.

He also added that NESAC was preparing a plan for hazard prone areas of the region and for it's adoption at regional level.

According to Tripura based research group - Association for Research on People And Nature (ARPAN),- the practice of rainwater harvesting in NE states has not yet been popularised, except in Mizoram and some parts of Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh.

As a result, the run off loss of rainwater is estimated at more than 60 per cent.

''Water scarcity during dry spell becomes a serious problem for the hilly parts of the region every year inspite of adequate monsoon shower in NE,'' said Prof A Sinha, one of the experts of ARPAN.

He, however, attributed that unequal distribution of rainfall and water table also posed a threat to human civilisation, as the rainfall in Meghalaya and Rajasthan was in no way identical but the concept of storing of water was same and needed immediate attention.

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