Abstract:
Punjab state in the northwestern part of India constitutes 1.57% oftotal area in the country
and its economy is mainly controlled by agriculture by covering 85% of geographical area with
cropping intensity reaching to 184% in the central parts of the state. During last 4 decades a shift from
Sugarcane-Maize-Wheat cropping pattern to Wheat-Rice cropping pattern has lead to increase in the
demand for irrigation water and further putting stress on the groundwater. Groundwater level
monitoring has been carried out on 4 observation wells in 4 blocks namely Ajnala, Majitha, Rayya
and Tarsika of Amritsar for 7 years during January 2006 to December 2013 for assessing the
groundwater level. Groundwater occurs under phreatic condition and depth to groundwater varied
from 6 to 11 m (bgl) in Ajnala, 5 to 11 m (bgl) in Majitha, 14 to 19 m (bgl) in Rayya and 9 to 14 m
(bgl) in Tarsika. The increased depth of 6 m was observed in Majitha and 5 m was observed in other 3
blocks. Monthly groundwater level data have been analysed which indicates that the ground water is
declining in all the four blocks with variable rate. The decline of groundwater level in each block
during 7 years has become an area of concern for understanding the over exploitation of groundwater
scenario in the region.
