HYDERABAD: In what could be more bad news for the Telangana government, the state groundwater department warned that wells in several parts of the state are likely to go dry.
Even if the next monsoon is good, the water would not be sufficient as the depth of available groundwater is expected to be lower than normal, the Groundwater Board stated in its report for September.
The present situation "may lead to the steep decline in groundwater levels and there may be no rise in water levels during the monsoon period due to very limited or no recharge to groundwater because of deficit rainfall and more utilization of groundwater. Less recharge areas may go dry," the report said.
Agriculture in Telangana is nearly entirely dependent on groundwater. The state has over 18 lakh agricultural pumpsets with tens of thousands of farmers entirely dependent on borewells to grow crops. With the power supply crisis looming over agriculture sector during the Rabi season and farmers preparing for harvest, pressure on groundwater for irrigation and consequently on power for running the pumpsets is expected to spike beginning February or March next year.
With the state recording a 31 per cent deficit in rainfall till September-end, on an average, the state witnessed a drop of 1.69 meters in groundwater level compared to the same month last year.
Incidentally, suicides by farmers in various districts of the state in the past few months seem to reflect the fall in groundwater levels.