Vertical drainage to tackle high groundwater levels

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Rohtak, October 10

The Irrigation Department has chalked out an elaborate plan to tackle the problem of high groundwater levels in villages of Rohtak district, flooding and overflowing of drains during the monsoon and the lack of irrigation water during the summer.

A vertical drainage system, comprising solar-powered shallow tubewells, has been proposed to drain out underground water from villages having alarmingly high levels of sub-soil water.

As per official sources, six agendas pertaining to the vertical drainage system and 13 regarding the replacement of drain pipes with RCC culverts in Rohtak circle, involving a total expenditure of Rs 85.63 crore, were discussed at a state-level meeting recently.

“The level of underground water is between 0 to 1.5 metres in about 86 per cent of land under agriculture in Rohtak district. We plan to drain this water out and mix it for water supplied for irrigation purposes during the summers when we face scarcity of water,” said Dinesh Rathee, Superintending Engineer (Irrigation), Rohtak circle.

Other agendas like rehabilitation of drains, replacement of old pump houses, purchase of new pumpsets and pipes for Rohtak circle of the Irrigation Department were also taken up with the state authorities, he added.