प्रपत्र-7.7-क्षेत्रीय जल की कमी के सतत समाधान हेतु जम्मू क्षेत्र के कंडी बेल्ट में तालाबों का जलविज्ञानीय अध्ययन - एक समीक्षा

Abstract

Jammu and Kashmir is the northern state of the country divided into three distinct physiographic regions, i.e., Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh which are drained by three distinct River basins, namely Chenab, Jhelum and Indus River. Kashmir and Ladakh regions are endowed with ample amount of water resources mostly in the form of glaciers, snowmelt, lakes and wetlands. Jammu region comprises of subtropical, intermediate and temperate areas.Maximum of area under tropical belt is rain-fed, locally known as Kandi belt. The Kandi belt in the state is extended between River Ravi in the east and Munawar Tawi on the west within the Jammu and Kathua Districts. Total area of the Kandi belt is estimated to be 811 km2, of which the upper and lower Kandi belts constitute 610 km2 and 201 km2, respectively. Most of the terrain of Kandi belt has undulating topography, steep and irregular slopes, erodible and low water retentive soils and badly dissected terrain by numerous gullies. Ground water table is deep.The soil loss has affected the agricultural production and hydrological regime to a large extent. Flashy flows of the streams and rivulets in the Kandi belt has denudedmost of the top fertile soil, and due to excess runoff, the area remains devoid of water except in the monsoon months. The semi hilly kandi belt is generally devoid of any spring or baolies and the number of Choes (torrential streams) pass through the Kandi-belt, manifesting "too little or too high" syndrome. In such severe water scarcity situation, ponds were single vital source of water and played a crucial role for meeting local community water needs till 1960. Most ponds were so designed that a part of the runoff from adjoining rivulets could be trapped. Over the years, poor maintenance due to decline in community institutions and encroachment in the catchment area by local persons have severely hampered this old-age water storage system. By the middle of 20th century, introduction of piped drinking water supply speeded the negligence of these ponds. To rejuvenate this traditional system of water harvesting, not having any substitute yet, Western Himalayan Regional Centre-Jammu, a regional centre of National Institute of Hydrology-Roorkee, conducted a series of studies comprisingdifferent aspect of Kandi ponds, such as hydrological problems of the area, mapping and inventory of Kandi ponds, physico-chemical and bacteriological analysis of pond waters and hydrological evaluation of selected ponds of the Kandi belt. To provide comprehensive data for the local planners, a detailed inventory of ponds located in the Kandi belt has been prepared. A total of 365 ponds have been delineated from SO1 toposheet (scale 1:50000), 249 ponds are located in the Kandi belt falling in Jammu district and remaining 116 in Kathua district. Among 365 ponds, only 165 ponds are perennial in nature. It is found that the total water spread area of all ponds in the Kandi belt comes to 1.5 km2. Sixteen ponds, with water spread area greater than 1 hectare, were mapped in the study area. Four ponds have a water spread area of more than 2 ha. The largest pond is located at Sungwal in Samba tehsil of Jammu district. Seventy one ponds have water spread area between 0.5 hectare and 1 hectare. The water quality of thirty two ponds has been assessed to see the suitability of pond water mainly for domestic purposes. The physico-chemical and bacteriological data wereanalyzed with reference to BIS and WHO standards. Concentrations of all physico-chemical constituents were found within the desirable limits, whereas the bacteriological analysis of the pond water indicates bacterial contamination in all the ponds. Improper sanitation and unhygienic conditions around the structure may be responsible for bacterial contamination in theses ponds and is a cause of great concern. It is recommended that the water drawn from such sources should be properly disinfected before use for drinking and other domestic purposes. Hydrological water balance study of a pond in village Badhori(Tehsil Samba, district Jammu) on monthly basis shows that only about one third capacity is being utilised under the prevailing climatic and soil conditions. If evaporation and other losses can be reducedthrough suitable measures, more water will be available for local consumption, and the available capacity of pond can be successfully used for cattle and horticulture purposes.Another hydrological study of Sohal pondreveals that pond remains perennial throughout the year with minimum water depth of 0.5 meter by considering no consumptive use from the pond. In the monsoon season, the spill from the pond is also appreciable. If the water of the pond is diverted for irrigation or other domestic use during such surplus periods, the storage of the pond can be optimally utilised. In a nutshell, extinction of the age-old system of water harvesting through village ponds has resulted in the water scarcity during non-monsoon months. Though the area receives a fairly high average annual rainfall of more than 1200 mm, yet harvesting of this water is lacking, which is one of the root-causes for water crisis. A long-term solution to solve the water scarcity problem in the Kandi-belt lies in the rejuvenation of the existing village ponds and construction of new ponds at suitable sites by considering the present hydro-geology of the area and their water could be utilized for domestic purposes and, to a limited extent, for irrigation purposes (e.g. in horticulture, agro- forestry). These ponds would also help in improving the ground water regime in the region. A sound scheme for rejuvenation of the village ponds is required, which should use the traditional folk wisdom and the skills of the modem techniques, e.g. inputs from the hydrology, geology and geophysics, soil sciences, remote sensing and GIS.