Scanty rain, Kangra valley stares at water crisis

Ravinder Sood

Palampur April 17

Water scarcity in the Kangra valley due to fast-depleting surface resources is emerging as a major challenge this summer. The water discharge in various natural resources has declined due to scanty rain and snowfall during the winter and many of these dried up this month.

The major rivers such as the Neugal, the Binwa and the Baner have little water these days. These rivers feed over 200 water supply schemes in the district.

Many parts of the district are facing a drought-like situation. Moreover, the snowline has been retreating every year. The discharge in traditional water resources is dependent on snowfall and rain. “Groundwater is available in abundance up to the higher reaches of the Himalayas. Therefore, the government should shift its dependence on surface water to groundwater,” said a senior scientist working on global warming and its effects on the Himalayas.

The Irrigation and Public Health Department is looking for new resources to augment the water supply schemes to meet the growing demand of water. The water discharge in the Changer areas of Palampur has come down to 30 per cent, multiplying the problems of the department.

“At present, the water supply schemes follow a centralised pattern. Surface water is tapped from some source, collected and then distributed. Such schemes are costly as a large pipe network is required for distribution. Another disadvantage is that the tail-end users do not get adequate water and if the scheme develops a fault, the entire population suffers. There are no such problems with the decentralised schemes based on groundwater. The surface water resources are depleting and engineers are struggling to find new ones,” said Sanjay Thakur, Executive Engineer, IPH Palampur.

————-

Caption:- The Neugal river with virtually no water.