Vrindavan’s ground water depleting due to the sheet piling activity

Vrindavan, 2017.02.02 (VT): The Ground water in the several parts of Vrindavan has gone down, by nearly 10 feet since last November. According to the experts and environmentalists, the cause of the depleting water table is the sheet piling activity, executed under the Yamuna Riverfront Development Project, by the Irrigation department of Uttar Pradesh. The metal sheets were inserted 25 feet deep inside the grounds in two kilometers area in front of the heritage ghats of Vrindavan.
Groundwater level of Vrindavan is entirely dependent on Yamuna River, as the town is surrounded by the river in its three sides. Percolation recharge of Vrindavan’s ground water is determined by the water level of Yamuna. The execution of the sheet piling activity has impacted the water level of the city.
Depleting water table may hit city very hard, as the city’s water supply is largely depended on the tube wells bored on the bank of Yamuna. Ground water level in various parts of Vrindavan is declining, as the aquifers of the water table can’t adequately be recharged due to the civil work along the river.
The ground water of the town is mainly used for drinking water needs of the growing population over the years. Likewise, many aquifers, especially those which don’t have abundant recharge, are affected by the amount of water being pumped out of local wells. There are 50 to 60 tube wells operating in Vrindavan.
“Groundwater decline has become a real and serious problem in Vrindavan. Although a big numbers of tube wells were dug by the municipality to provide water to the residents, but it hasn’t taken any step in conserving the water,” said Shri B.L. Upadhyay, a resident of the Cheer Ghat locality of Vrindavan.
Mrs. Charchita Rangacharya, from the Rangji Mandir has alleged, “There are fourteen wells and a water tank (kund), in our temple. Water supply for all the rituals of the temple is largely dependent on the water of the wells and the kund. We have seen a drastic fall of water level in our water reservoirs. The bore wells in many parts of the city have dried up even before the onset of summer.”
“The town’s bore wells are pumping out muddy water. Sometime it takes out black water as if it is being pumped out from any drain. It is going to be very difficult during summer for the water getting contaminated due to decline of the ground water,” said a municipal pump operator, not wanting to be named.
Acharya Naresh Narayan, a senior member of Braj Vrindavan Heritage Alliance said, “The floodplains have been self recharging and self sustaining aquifer for the city water. The illegal dumping of the debris, construction rubble and the extension of the settlement on flood plain are has been the reason for the ground water not being adequately recharged. Now, the sheet piling activity has put the death knell in the potable water supply of the temple town.”
It should be noted that the National Green Tribunal and the Allahabad High Court have stayed the project, but the civil work done on the river bed has already harmed the fragile ecology of Vrindavan.

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