Amritsar: Punjab, the land of the five rivers, was home to major Indian rivers that originate from the Indus river, namely Satlej, Beas, Ravi, Chenab, and Jhelum. Three of these rivers became a part of Pakistan after the partition. A few years later, the remaining rivers had to be divided between three states due to the formation of separate states of Harayana, Himachal Pradesh, and Punjab. For a state that has an abundance of rivers embedded in its history, it is crucial to understand the alarming water scarcity it is facing today.
As per a study conducted by the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), the ground water level in the state dropped from 3 metres to 10 metres between 1998 to 2018. In several areas of the state, the groundwater level has even dropped to as much as 30 metres. The groundwater level depletes by one metre annually in 19 districts out of the 23 districts of Punjab, notes a report.
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The Green Revolution in 1960-61 changed the nature of agriculture in India. Prior to the 1970s, agricultural practices in Punjab were mostly dependent upon the water from rain and rivers. After the introduction of tube-wells during the 1990s, agricultural practices changed and the groundwater level of the state started to deplete at an alarming rate.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, Balbir Singh Seechewal, a Rajya Sabha member from Punjab and an environmentalist at heart said, "Punjab was once the land of five rivers, and we have mixed poison into these rivers ourselves." He said the hands that can light fires can also plant trees, and provide nutrition to those trees. "It is in our hands that we should bring up the ground water level which is going down."
The water crisis in Punjab is a grave concern which must be acted upon immediately and people must be made aware of the importance of taking measures to conserve water, Seechewal added. "I had cleaned up the polluted Kali Bein, it is possible to clean up the polluted rivers of Punjab in the same way," said Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal.
He further informed ETV Bharat that he plans to raise his concerns regarding the Punjab water crisis in the Rajya Sabha and he will be the voice of the people in the Council. He condemned the current condition of the rivers in Punjab, adding that this was all temporary and could be solved with the joint efforts of the people and the government.
Bharatiya Kisan Union member Gurpreet Singh said that farmers cannot be held responsible for the depletion in the groundwater level. "In the name of the green revolution, Mexico's failed project was implemented in India. Mexico receives 15 mm of rainfall, whereas in Punjab, it rains up to 5 mm, due to which the paddy crop would not have been successful here. Despite this, the farmers were forced to plant this crop to meet the government's demand," he said.
"Nearly 4,000 litres of water is used to produce just 1 kg rice. It is not the farmer's fault because if the government was to offer MSP on all crops, then the farmers will be compelled to cultivate all crops," Seechewala added. Rice is not an indigenous crop of Punjab as the climate does not suit the crop, which is why farmers have been largely unsuccessful in harvesting rice while also preserving the environment.
A large number of factories in Punjab release polluted water into the rivers of the state, due to which the water is getting polluted, said Gurpreet. Approximately 228 factories are active in Ludhiana itself which largely contribute to the pollution of these rivers. "Due to the annual groundwater depletion, farmers have to bear the cost of changing tube-wells, installing motors, and deal with the increasing electricity costs," Singh said.
Nearly 27.4 per cent of the irrigation in the year 2010 was done using the water from rivers and streams. The figure hasn't changed much as in 2018, nearly 28.7 per cent of the irrigation was done using water from rivers and streams. However, if we look at the records of the past sixty years, we can observe a huge difference as this number fell from 58.4 per cent in the late 1950s to 28 per cent in 2018.
The usage of tube-wells for irrigation purposes increased from 40 per cent to 71 per cent in 2018. The cultivable land in Punjab also increased from approximately 54 per cent to nearly 99 per cent.
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PAU's Head of Department of Soil Science Dr Rajan Agarwal said, "The demand for water has increased; fifty years ago, only 50 per cent of the land was cultivable this has now become 100 per cent. Besides that, we have also decreased the usage of freshwater from rivers and streams by adopting tube-well irrigation which is the primary cause of groundwater depletion."
Punjab's dark zone areas include Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ludhiana, Fetehgarh Sahib, Barnala, Patiala, Kapurthala, Moga, Jalandhar, and Sangroor. Besides these, Fareedkot, Ferozpur, Gurdaspur, and Amritsar are the four areas where majority of the irrigation water comes from rivers and streams. Nearly 80 per centof the cities in Punjab come under the red zone. Out of the state's 180 blocks, 117 have been completed depleted of groundwater.
Dr Rajan Agarwal informed that some government agencies had conducted a research in 2017. "If the groundwater level continues to fall then in the coming 20-30 years, the groundwater will decrease to a level even below 1,000 feet," the research revealed. It has been five years since then, so one can estimate just how bad the situation in Punjab currently is.
In a survey conducted by the Punjab state government between 2007 to 2017, it was found that in a duration of just ten years, the groundwater in many areas went below ten feet. In Gurdaspur, the level depleted from 59 feet in 2007 to 64 feet in 2017; in Amritsar it went from 70 feet to 80 feet; in Tarn Taran, from 53 feet to 72 feet; however, in Mohali, the level went from 46 feet to to 42 feet, a rare case of improvement in the groundwater level.
According to a report released by the Punjab Pollution Board and the Rajasthan Pollution Board, it was found that even the water from the rivers in Punjab has become unfit for drinking. High concentration of nitrates and metal was found in the samples taken to check the contamination level of the streams. Ludhiana's Budha canal merges with the Satlej river which is used for drinking and irrigation purposes in Rajasthan.
However, the study found that the water from the Budha canal is so polluted that if it meets the Satlej without treatment then it can pollute the river as well, making it unfit for consumption in Rajasthan. Untreated water from countless houses and chemicals and industrial waste from the dye factories in Ludhiana are dumped into the Budha canal.
RTI activist and social worker Kimti Rawal raised concerns about the depleting groundwater level in September 2021 following which the PAU conducted testing on the water quality of the schools within the vicinity of the Budha canal. The study found that this water is not fit for drinking as it had been contaminated. All four samples taken for testing had produced unfavourable results.
"Water sample tests were conducted in PAU which was found to be a complete failure. Even in Ludhiana, the water is not fit for drinking. The Budha Nala has not only polluted the water of Ludhiana but also the Sutlej which meets Rajasthan. This is a cause of concern as it is causing many majr diseases, but still the government is not paying any attention to the issue," said Rawal.
The problem of groundwater level in Punjab is increasing day by day. We are responsible for the situation we put ourselves in as we have lost a very important source of water, not just for irrigation but also for human consumption. The indiscriminate use of water has now brought us to the brink of a water crisis and if we don't save every drop, then the day when people will beg for one drop of water is not very far.
There is also an opinion that somewhere we ourselves are responsible for the falling groundwater level, we have not only lost our water sources but also for personal benefit. The indiscriminate use of water has now brought us to the brink that if we do not save every drop of water today, that day is not far away when the coming generations will crave for water.
