GROUND WATER INFORMATION BOOKLET

SOUTH 24 PARGANAS DISTRICT, WEST BENGAL

DISTRICT AT A GLANCE

Sl. Items Statistics

No.
1. GENERAL INFORMATION
i) Geographical Area (Sq.km.) 9960
ii) Administrative Division (as on 2001)
• No. of Subdivision 5 nos.
• No. of Blocks 29 nos.
• No. of Panchayat Samities 29 nos.
• No. of Municipalities 7 nos.
• No. of Gram Panchayats 312 nos.
• No. of inhabited villages 4324 nos.
iii) Population (as on 2001 Census) 69,06,689
iv) Normal Annual Rainfall 1800 mm
2. GEOMORPHOLOGY
i) Major Physiographic Unit The deltaic plains; the levees; the
marshes; and the islands of
Sundarbans..
ii) Major Drainages
a) Natural Hugli Matla, Bidyadhari,
Raimangal, Thakuran, Saptamukhi
etc.
b) Artificial Bhangar khal, Kulpi khal, Surjapur
khal etc.
3. LAND USE (As on 2044-05)
i) Forest Area 4,263 sq.km
ii) Net Area Sown 3782.7 sq.km.
4. MAJOR SOIL TYPES (i) Entisols; (ii) Alfisols; & (iii)
Aridisols.
5. AREA UNDER PRINCIPAL CROPS (As
on 2004-05)
i) Food Grains (Rice, Wheat, 4100 sq.km.
Pulses etc)
ii) Oil Seeds (Rape, mustard etc.) 81 sq.km.
iii) Fibres (Jute Etc.) 16 sq.km.
iv) Miscellaneous crops (Potato, 49 sq.km.
sugarcane etc,)

6. IRRIGATION BY DIFFERENT SOURCES

i) Shallow Tubewells 136.313 sq.km. area was actually
irrigated through 9278 nos. of
STW during 2000-01, whereas the
culturable command area (CCA)

1
 through the exiting 9452 nos. of
STW was 151.877 sq.km.
ii) Deep Tubewells 3.434 sq.km area was actually
irrigated through 28 nos. of DTW
during 2000-01, whereas, the CCA
through the existing 29 DTW was
7.10 sq.km.
iii) Surface Flow 299.794 sq.km area was actually
irrigated through 1566 nos. of
Surface Flow Schemes during
2000-01, whereas, the CCA
through the existing 1575 nos. of
SFS was 312.515 sq.km.
iv) Surface Lift (RLI) 339.128 sq.km area was actually
irrigated through 24912 nos. of
RLI during 2000-01, whereas, the
CCA through the existing 25110
nos. of RLI was 470.925 sq.km.
v) Actual Area Irrigated by ground water 139.747 sq.km
during 2000-01
vi) Actual Area Irrigated by Surface Water 638.923 sq.km.
during 2000-01
7. NUMBERS OF GROUND WATER
MONITORING WELLS OF CGWB (as on
31.03.2007)
i) Dugwells 8 Nos.
ii) Piezometers/Tubewells 50 Nos.
8. PREDOMINANT GEOLOGICAL Quaternary deltaic sediments
FORMATIONS composed of clay, silt, and sand of
various grades, gravels, pebbles
etc., underlain by Upper Tertiary
formations.
9. HYDROGEOLOGY
i) Major Water Bearing Formation Quaternary & Tertiary alluvium
ii) Pre-monsoon depth to water level 0.35 to 5.56 m bgl in Dugwells,
during 2006 and 2.50 to 6.80 m bgl in
Tubewells/Piezometers.
iii) Post-monsoon depth to water level 0.30 to 1.35 m bgl in Dugwells,
during 2006 and 2.58 to 6.48 m bgl in
Tubewells/Piezometers.
iv) Long term water level trend for last 10 Falling trend of water level to the
years. tune of 0.006 to 0.467 m/yr., and
rising trend to the tune of 0.008 to
0.725 m/yr. during pre-monsoon
period and falling trend of water
level to the tune of 0.009 to 0.280
m/yr and rising trend to the tune of
0.003 to 0.312 m/yr. during post-
monsoon period.

2
10. GROUND WATER EXPLORATION BY
CGWB (as on 31.3.07)
i) Number of wells drilled 35
ii) Depth range 170.69 to 650.17 m bgl
iii) Discharge 3.32 to 61.58 lps
iv) Transmissivity (T) 397 to 6514 m2/day
vi) Storativity (S) 0.0002 to 0.033
11. GROUND WATER QUALITY
i) Presence of chemical constituents more Arsenic, Iron & Salinity
than permissible limit
ii) Type of water Ca-Mg-HCO3 to Ca-HCO, types in
deeper aquifers; and Na-Cl type in
shallower aquifers of coastal area.
12. DYNAMIC GROUND WATER
RESOURCES
i) Annual groundwater flow through the 68 MCM
area
ii) Annual ground water draft through the 135.77 MCM
abstraction structures
13. AWARENESS AND TRAINING
ACTIVITY
i) Number of Mass Awareness 2
Programme organized
ii) Number of Water Management Training 1
Programme organized
14. EFFORTS OF ARTIFICIAL RECHARGE
AND RAIN WATER HARVESWTING
i) Projects completed by CGWB Nil
ii) Projects under technical guidance by Nil
CGWB
15. GROUND WATER CONTROL AND
REGULATION
i) No. of Blocks notified Nil
16. MAJOR GROUND WATER PROBLEMS 1. Arsenic Concentration
AND ISSUES beyond permissible limit
2. Iron concentration beyond
permissible limit
3. Salinity hazards
4. Declining trend of ground
water level

3
 GROUND WATER INFORMATION BOOKLET
SOUTH 24 PAPRGANAS DISTRICT, WEST BENGAL

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Location and area with The district is bounded by the latitudes 22˚33΄45˝ N
administrative details and 21˚29΄00˝ N and longitudes 89˚4΄50˝ E and
88˚3΄45˝E. The total geographical area of the district
in 9960 sq.km. It has 5 Sub-divisions consisting of 29
Block, 29 Panchayat Samities and 26 Police Stations.
There are 312 Gram Panchayats with 4324 villages.
Alipore is the headquarters of the district.

1.2 Ground water basin The district is located in the mature tract of Gangetic
delta in Lower Ganga basin.

1.3 Drainage Hugli, Matla, Bidyadhari, Raimangal, Saptamukhi

rivers with their tributaries/distributaries from the main
drainage in this district.

1.4 Irrigation practices Irrigation is done mainly by groundwater through

shallow and deep tubewells alongwith surface water
from rivers through river lifting and also from canals ,
ponds etc.

1.5 Studies of CGWB CGWB has completed Systematic Hydrogeological

Survey and is continuing Ground Water Management
Studies. Apart from this, Ground Water Exploration is
being carried out to delineate the aquifer geometry
and to know the aquifer characteristics. Special
attention has been given to identify the deeper
aquifers and construction of tubewells adopting
cement sealing techniques in arsenic and saline
infested areas to provide arsenic free and fresh water
through state-agencies.

2. RAINFALL AND CLIMATE

2.1 Rainfall The normal annual rainfall in this district is of the tune
of 1800 mm.

2.2 Climate The district is characterized by hot and humid climate.

It receives adequate rainfall from North-East and
South-West monsoons which set in the later half of
June and withdraw by the middle of October. Pre-
monsoon rains are received during March-April. May
is the hottest month with temperature as high as 40˚C

4
 and January is the coldest month with temperature as
low as 10˚C.
3.0 GEOMORPHOLOGY & SOIL TYPES

3.1 Geomorphology The district is divided into 4(four) geomorphic units.

i) Deltaic Plains
ii) Levees
iii) Marshes
iv) Islands of Sunderban

3.2 Soil types The soil type of this district is divided into three
groups, namely, (i) Entisols, (ii) Alfisols; and (iii)
Aridisols.
The Entisols are present in the western corner of
the district, the Alfisols which are typically deltaic
alluvium soils, are present in central portion, and the
Aridisols which are saline and saline-alkali in nature
are present in the southern part of the district.

4.0 GROUND WATER SCENARIO

4.1 Geology The district is located in the lower deltaic plain on the
composite Gangetic Delta and is covered by the
Quaternary sediments deposited by the Ganga and its
tributaries. The top of the alluvium is clayee in nature
with varying thickness of 15 to 75 metres. Fine sand
and silty-clay capping also occurs in small patches in
the alluvium. Underlying the clay blankets occurs a
huge thickness of unconsolidated sediments
composed of silt, fine to coarse grained sand and
gravel with increasing thickness towards east-
southeast. The gravel zone may be considered as a
marker horizon which is underlain by another
extensive clay zone at varying depths. Beneath this
clay zone, occurs a second group of aquifers in the
depth range of 160 to 360 metres with considerable
aerial extent. A succession of Tertiary and Mesozoic
formations within the depth range of 350 m to 4000
metres is established by the exploration conducted by
Standard Vacuum Oil Company. These geological
horizons are sloping gently towards south-southeast.

4.2 Hydrogeolgoy The ground water bearing aquifers are present in the
district within Quaternary and Tertiary sediments and
generally occur under confined condition in the depth
range of 75 to 360 metres with numerous alternations
of clayee and sandy layers of varying thickness .
The confined aquifers can be divided into two
groups in this district from north to extreme south. The
upper one, usually in the depth span of 20 to 160

5
 metres has a sandy gravel layer as a marker bed at
its base which pinches out eastward. The ground
water in general except at a few places occurring in
this upper group of aquifers, is brackish to saline
(Chloride ranging from 1750 to 6300 ppm) and is not
in use.
The lower group of aquifer occurring in the depth
range of 160 to 360 metre, is separated from the
upper group by a thick impermeable sticky clay bed
which is laterally extensive with varying thickness.
The ground water occurring in this lower group of
aquifer is generally fresh and is used extensively. This
confined productive aquifer is recharged by rainwater
through the recharging exposed area along Kalyani-
Ranaghat-Shantipur area in Nadia district in the north;
along Bangaon-Gaighata section in North 24
Parganas district in the north-east; and along
Tarakeswar-Nalikul-Mogra-Pandua area in Hugli,
district in the north-west.
The piezometric surface of the lower group of
confined aquifer as monitored in the year 2006 from
the hydrograph network stations, lies from 1.70 m to
6.00 m bgl during pre-monsoon period and from 0.50
m to 5.80 m bgl during post-monsoon period. The
average slope of the piezometric surface during pre-
monsoon of 2006 in this district is 1:1500 towards the
principal direction of South-east.

Aquifer Characteristics: Exploratory ltubewells were

constructed by CGWB tapping the productive fresh
water bearing zones of depth ranging from 115 to 402
m bgl are capable to yield 100 to 120 m3/hr., with
drawdown ranging from 2.3 to 16.5 metres.
Transmissivity values range from 400 to 6500 m2/day
and the Storativity values range from 0.0002 to
0.0015

4.3 Groundwater Except in a very few parts (where ground water

Resources occurs under both unconfined and confined
conditions) the fresh water bearing aquifers in this
district is under confined condition. Hence it has not
been considered for ground water resource estimation
by GEC-’97 methodology.
However, in order to have an idea of the dynamic
ground water potential of this district, an attempt has
been made to estimate the total quantity of ground
water flow by applying Darcy’s Law equation of flow of
fluids through porous media, which is Q = TIL; where
Q is the Quantity of water flowing through a section of
aquifer, T is the Transmissivity of aquifer, I is the
hydraulic gradient of the piezometric surface and L is

6
 the length of groundwater flow-path in the section of
the aquifer under consideration, perpendicular to the
flow direction.
For the area under consideration in this district
and taking average values of T=2000 m2/day, I =
1:1500 & L = 140 Km., the Q is computed as 68 MCM.
Hence, the dynamic groundwater flow towards the
principal direction of SE, in this area, is considered to
be 68 MCM per annum.
To assess the annual ground water draft through
groundwater development structures, the total number
of shallow and deep tubewels is taken into account.
As per the 3rd Minor irrigation Census 2001, the
district has 9278 STWs and 28 DTWs. Considering
average unit draft of 0.014 MCM/Yr for STW and 0.21
MCM/Yr for DTW the Net Ground Water draft is
computed as 135.77 MCM per annum.

4.4 Groundwater Quality Chemical analyses results show that groundwater

from unconfined aquifer except a few places is fresher
within 60 m bgl than the deeper aquifers within 60 to
125 m bgl. Ground water from the unconfined aquifer
is generally neutral to mildly alkaline with pH ranging
from 7.2 to 8.1.
Ground water in the western and central part of the
district is primarily a Calcium-magnesium-Bicarbonate
type. The aquifer within the depth range of 150 m bgl
in this area is generally marked by brackishness
where chloride value ranges from 1750 to 6300 ppm.,
however, at few places fresh ground water occurs in
a linear tract following the Adi Ganga channel.
The deeper group of confined aquifer occurring
within the depth range of 160 to 350 m bgl in the
southern and south-eastern part of the district contain
fresh water and favourable for exploitation. The
ground water is neutral to mildly alkaline with pH
ranging from 7.4 to 8.1. Electro-conductivity ranges
from714 to 2692 µs/cm (at 25˚C) and the chloride
value ranges from 14 to 596 ppm., hence suitable for
human consumption.
In the coastal belt of this district the aquifers under
semi confined to confined condition contain ground
water with very high dissolved salts. Maximum value
of Electrical conductivity of 8600 µs/cm (at 25˚C) and
highest value of Chloride content of 2180 ppm were
found at Rajar Taluk in Diamond Harbour II block (as
observed from CGWB permanent monitoring wells)
Arsenic content of groundwater has been found to
be beyond permissible limit of 0.05 ppm in a number
of localized patches in sporadic manner in 9 blocks-
Baruipur, Sonarpur-Bhangar-I & II, Joynagar-I,

7
 Bishnupur-I&II, Magrahat-II and Budge Budge-II in
this district. The maximum value of Arsenic content
was recorded to be 3.2 ppm at Baruipur in this district.
It has been found that a sizeable population in the
localities has been suffering from Arsenic dermatosis
by drinking ground water rich in Arsenic content.

4.5 Status of Ground Water

Development (Blockwise)

Sl. Block Occurrence of Feasibility of Ground Depth to Ground

No. aquifer and its Ground Water piezometric Water
potentiality (as per Water abstraction level (m bgl) Quality
the data available Structure structures (from NHS of (values for
with CGWB) for irrigation CGWB) the samples
(as per 3rd from NHS of
Pre- Post-
Minor CGWB)
mon- mon-
Irrigation
soon soon
Census,
2001)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1. Maheshtala The upper shallow Low duty Shallow 6.35 5.80 Fe 0.44 to
unconfined aquifer shallow Tubewells 2.91 mg/l
system occurs within tubewells with (STW) – 0
50 m bgl. The lower yield of 20 to Cl 99 to 110
confined aquifer 40 m3/hr, and Deep mg/l
system occurs in heavy duty Tubewells
between 70 to 160 m deep (DTW) – 0 EC 1020 to
bgl and occurs tubewells with 1120 µs/cm
inbetwen 170 to 360 m yield of 50 to at 25˚C
bgl. Each aquifer 150 m3/hr are
system consists one of feasible.
more granular zones
which are more or less
interconnected
The Transmissivity (T)
ranges from 500 to
2000 m2/day and co-
efficient of Storativity
(S) ranges from 0.3 x
10-1 to 0.5x10-2 in the
second i.e., upper
confined aquifer
system; and in the
deper confined aquifer
system ‘T’ ranges from
915 to 3000 m2/day
and ‘S’ ranges from
0.3 x 10-3 to 1.1x10-3.
2. Bishnupur I -do- -do- STW – 1 5.18 4.98 Sporadic
DTW – 0 occurrence of
Arsenic
beyond
permissible
limit of 0.01

8
 mg/l
Fe – 0.19 mg/l
Cl – 60 mg/l
EC – 710
µs/cm at 25˚C
3. Bishnupur II -do- -do- -do- -do- Sporadic
occurrence of
Arsenic
beyond
permissible
limit of 0.01
mg/l
Fe – 0.10 mg/l
Cl – 234 mg/l
EC – 1150
µs/cm at 25˚C
4. Budge Budge -do- -do- STW – 2 - - Fe – 0.15 mg/l
I DTW – 0 Cl – 135 mg/l
EC – 955
µs/cm at 25˚C
5. Budge Budge -do- -do- STW – 0 - - Sporadic
II DTW – 1 occurrence of
Arsenic
beyond
permissible
limit of 0.01
mg/l

6. Sonarpur -do- -do- STW – 578 4.37 2.35 Sporadic

DTW – 4 to to occurrence of
5.77 3,20 Arsenic
beyond
permissible
limit of 0.01
mg/l
Fe – 0.35 to
4.70 mg/l
Cl – 135 to
248 mg/l
EC – 1080 to
1430 µs/cm at
25˚C
7. Joynagar I -do- -do- STW – 83 2.67 1.45 Sporadic
DTW – 1 to to occurrence of
5.64 5.28 Arsenic
beyond
permissible
limit of 0.01
mg/l
8. Joynagar II -do- -do- STW – 6 -do- -do- Fe – 0.11 to
DTW – 1 7.82 mg/l
Cl – 124 to
149 mg/l
EC – 1070 to
1300 µs/cm at
25˚C

9
9. Baruipur -do- -do- STW – 1120 2.50 2.19 Sporadic
DTW – 6 to to occurrence of
5.40 6.30 Arsenic
beyond
permissible
limit of 0.01
mg/l
Fe – 0.05 to
3.14 mg/l
Cl – 46 to 518
mg/l
EC – 750 to
2350 µs/cm at
25˚C
10. Bhangar -do- -do- STW – 2933 3.15 2.58 Sporadic
DTW – 3 to to occurrence of
4.60 4.25 Arsenic
beyond
permissible
limit of 0.01
mg/l
Fe – 0.53 mg/l
Cl – 28 mg/l
EC – 670
µs/cm at 25˚C
11. Bhangar II -do- -do- STW 1919 -do- -do- Sporadic
DTW 3 occurrence of
Arsenic
beyond
permissible
limit of 0.01
mg/l
Fe – 0.05 to
0.31 mg/l
Cl – 145 to
177 mg/l
EC – 1260 to
1350 µs/cm at
25˚C
12. Diamond -do- -do- STW – 0 1.35 1.34 Fe – 0.22 mg/l
Harbour I DTW – 1 to to Cl – 284 mg/l
1.68 1.35 EC 1500
(Dug (Dug µs/cm at 25˚C
well) well)
13. Diamond -do- -do- STW – 0 -do- -do- Fe – 0.22 to
Harbour II DTW – 0 9.03 mg/l
Cl – 227 to
2180 mg/l
EC 2000 to
8600 µs/cm at
25˚C
14. Magrahat I -do- -do- STW – 0 6.80 6.48 Fe – 0.65 to
DTW – 0 1.38 mg/l
Cl – 53 to
2.20 mg/l
EC – 780 to

10
 1300 µs/cm at
25˚C
15. Magrahat II -do- -do- STW – 58 -do- Sporadic
DTW – 0 occurrence of
Arsenic
beyond
permissible
limit of 0.01
mg/l
Fe – 0.02 to
1.20 mg/l
Cl – 28 to
5.32 mg/l
EC – 570 to
2320 µs/cm at
25˚C
16. Falta -do- -do- STW – 0 6.70 6.40 Fe – 0.15 to
DTW – 3 0.70 mg/l
Cl – 92 to 872
mg/l
EC – 1030 to
3700 µs/cm at
25˚C
17. Caning I The upper confined Heavy duty STW – 406 2.70 1.35 Fe – 0.61 mg/l
aquifer system occurs dep tubewells DTW – 0 to to Cl – 53 mg/l
in between 80 to 150 with yield of 2.80 2.75 Ec – 900
m bgl containing 50 to 150 µs/cm at 25˚C
brackish water, and m3/hr are
the deeper second feasible
group of confined
aquifer occurs in
between 160 to 360 m
bgl containing fresh
water.
Each aquifer system
consists one or more
granular zones which
are more or less
interconnected.
The Transmissivity (T)
ranges from 500 to
2000 m2/day and co-
efficient of Storativity
(S) ranges from 0.3 x
10-1 to 0.5x10-2 in the
second i.e., upper
confined aquifer
system; and in the
deper confined aquifer
system ‘T’ ranges from
915 to 3000 m2/day
and ‘S’ ranges from
0.3 x 10-3 to 1.1x10-3.

18. Canning II -do- -do- STW – 1093 -do- -do- -

DTW – 0

11
19. Mathurapur I -do- -do- STW – 67 3.56 3.30 -
DTW – 0 to to
5.74 5.34
20. Mathurapur II -do- -do- STW – 363 -do- -do- Fe – 0.04 to
DTW – 0 12.27 mg/l
Cl – 138 to
869 mg/l
EC 1180 to
3500 µs/cm at
25˚C
21. Mandirbazar -do- -do- STW – 0 4.90 4.20 -
DTW – 1 to to
5.90 5.38

22. Basanti -do- -do- STW – 14 4.14 2.40 Fe – 0.06 to

DTW – 0 to to 0.63 mg/l
4.18 3.83 Cl – 110 to
124 mg/l
EC 930 to
1150 µs/cm at
25˚C
23. Gosaba I -do- -do- STW – 349 3.88 2.00 Fe – 0.27 mg/l
DTW – 0 Cl – 85 mg/l
EC – 1030
µs/cm at 25˚C
24. Kulpi -do- -do- STW – 2 6.00 5.80 Fe 0.40 to
DTW -2 3.81 mg/l
Cl – 121 to
316 mg/l
EC 1230 to
1740 µs/cm at
25˚C
25. Kultali -do- -do- STW – 174 4.40 3.36 Fe – 0.42 mg/l
DTW – 0 Cl – 117 mg/l
EC – 1060
µs/cm at 25˚C
26. Kakdwip -do- -do- STW – 3 5.05 4.08 Fe – 0.65 to
DTW – 0 to to 10.3 mg/l
6.68 6.06 Cl – 103 to
450 mg/l
EC 940 to
2050 µs/cm at
25˚C
27. Namkhana -do- -do- STW – 0 5.65 5.45 Fe – 0.33 mg/l
DTW – 0 to to Cl – 227 mg/l
6.25 6.45 EC – 1330
µs/cm at 25˚C
28. Pathar- -do- -do- STW – 181 5.22 4.50 -
pratima DTW -1 to to
6.90 5.75
29. Sagar -do- -do- STW – 0 5.30 5.25 FE – 1.73 to
DTW – 0 to to 2.57 mg/l
5.65 5.61 Cl – 99 to 131
mg/l
EC 860 to

12
 1050 µs/cm at
25˚C

5. GROUND WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

5.1 Groundwater At present groundwater development is controlled by

Development the shallow tubewells and deep tubewells in the
district. As per 3rd Minor Irrigation Census, 2001 the
district has 9278 shallow and 28 deep tubewells with
cumulative draft of 135.77 MCM per annum.
In general ground water in the district occurs under
confined condition, and hence total ground water
resource could not be estimated by GEC, 1997
method. However, considering Darcy’s equation of
ground water flow, the annual dynamic ground water
flow through the area in the district has been
estimated as 68 MCM.
Development of ground water which is almost free
from Arsenic and salinity through deeper aquifer for
drinking purposes, are taken up by constructing deep
tubewells applying cement sealing techniques in the
arsenic affected blocks of the district in the northern
part, and in the coastal blocks of the district with
saline hazards in southern part.

5.2 Water Conservation So far no structure has been constructed by CGWB in

and Artificial Recharge this district.

6. GROUND WATER RELATED ISSUES AND PROBLEMS.

6.1 Groundwater quality Arsenic in groundwater in sporadic manner has been

problem (Geogenic) identified in 9 blocks in this district. The concentration
of arsenic varies from 0.001 to 3.32 mg/lit.
Groundwater exploration by CGWB reveals that in
arsenic affected area, arsenic free deeper aquifers
are available which are capable of yielding arsenic-
free water. Accordingly, deeper aquifers are exploited
and arsenic-free water is supplied by state authorities.
Apart from this, the state govt., as well as other
organization/agencies have installed arsenic-removal
plants and domestic filters which are producing water
with far below the permissible limit of arsenic content.

6.2 Salinity hazards in Due to brackish/saline nature of shallow aquifers (10

coastal belt to 150 m bgl) shallow tubewells are not favourable in
the coastal blocks. The chemical analyses of the
groundwater samples from these shallow aquifers
show that, chloride ranges from 1854 to 13581 mg/lit

13
 and Electrical Conductivity ranges from 5960 to
41,350 µs/cm at 25˚C. Due to salinity, shallow
tubewells are not feasible for either drinking or
irrigation purposes.
To overcome these problems, fresh groundwater
bearing deeper aquifers (160-360 m bgl) are tapped
and as alternate source, surface water is used for
drinking (after treatment) and irrigation purposes.

6.3 Declining trend of From the long-term monitoring data of water level, the
water level average declining trends have been observed in
almost all the blocks in the district except Bhangar-II
and Kakdwip blocks.

6.4 Risk to natural disaster Sagar block of this district is highly prone to flood and
cyclones as a result, embankment failures and
washing off of villages are taking place. Out of 46
villages in this block already 3 villages, namely –
Bishalakshmipur, Lohachara and Khasimara were
steepened down into th4e sea and about 16 villages
were partly destroyed by continuous embankment
failures and subsequent destructions.

7. AWARENESS AND TRAINING ACTIVITY

7.1 Mass Awareness Two numbers of Mass Awareness Programmes were

Programme(MAP) conducted in this district till date. The details are as
follows:
Sl. Place (Block) Date No. of Theme
No. Participants
1. Canning 13.01.05 130 Scope of Exploration for fresh
(Canning I) water and utility of rain water
harvesting in coastal belt.
2. Diamond 02.11.06 280 Groundwater development and
Harbour management with scope of Rain
(Diamond water harvesting
Harbour I)

7.2 Water Management One number of Water Management Training

Training Programme Programme was conducted in this district. The
details are as follows:
Sl. Place (Block) Date No. of Theme
No. Participants
1. Diamond 03.11.06 18 Groundwater Development and
Harbour management with special
(Diamond reference to Rain Water
Harbour I) Harvesting

7.3 Participation in CGWB has participated in a Mela-cum-Exhibition in

Exhibition/Mela/Fair recent years in this district. The details are as follows:

Sl. Place (Block) Date Organizer Objectives

14
 No.
1. Kultali, 20th to 29th Kultali Milan Displayed various models, charts,
Basanti December, Tirtha maps prepared by CGWB to aware
(Basanti) 2005 Society, the common people on ground
South 24 water issues.
Parganas

8. AREA NOTIFIED BY CGWA/SGWA

List of area : Nil

9. RECOMMENDATIONS

9.1 Groundwater exploration may be continued and the sites may be selected
in grid pattern as far as possible for delineating Arsenic-free and saline-
free fresh ground water bearing zones. For identifying the potentiality of
individual aquifer, Packer test is recommended.
9.2 A comprehensive and representative network of hydrograph stations
tapping different aquifers may ensure better feed back of water level
conditions and chemical conditions for the effective management of
ground water development porogramme.
9.3 During construction of tubewells in Arsenic-free and saline-free fresh
groundwater bearing aquifers, proper cement sealing should be done in
the thick clay layer for a thickness of 3 to 4 meters for proper protection of
the aquifer from the contaminated aquifer.
9.4 The tubewells withdrawing groundwater for drinking purposes, should be
frequently tested for Arsenic. Wherever and whenever a tubewell yields
Arsenic-contaminated groundwater, either it should be sealed or Arsenic-
removal equipment should be used with proper and regular maintenance.
9.5 Modern agricultural management and irrigation practices should be
adopted which includes economic distribution of ground water as well as
surface water by maintaining minimum pumping hours and also by
selecting most suitable cropping patterns which are economic.
9.6 To maintain the sustainability of the tapped aquifer zones, large scale
rainwater harvesting may act as effective measure to manage and control
the groundwater resources for future. More number of rain water

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 conservation structures may be constructed to store the huge rainwater
during monsoon and may be used for irrigation and drinking purposes in
the lean periods. Since, almost all the tubewells are tapping deeper
freshwater bearing zones under confined conditions; artificial recharge to
ground water is not feasible in this area.
9.7 Conjunctive use of surface water and ground water for irrigation may be
given importance in the area wherever technically and economically
feasible in the district, to minimize the load of groundwater withdrawal.

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