Katra, Sep 28: Gautam Narula, Assistant Professor, School of Civil Engineering, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, delivered a talk on Groundwater Management at KG Reddy College of Engineering and Technology, Andhra Pradesh. The talk aimed to make students understand groundwater crises in India and the world.

Students were made aware that India is the biggest consumer of groundwater in the world. The topics discussed during the talk were the policies and facts presented in United Nations Ground Water Report 2022, the need to understand groundwater management, the steps that can be taken, and successful case studies in India and the world, including Andhra Pradesh Farmers Managed Ground Water System Project, China Sponge City and Managed Aquifer Recharge technique. 

The comparison was set up between the tapping and managing of groundwater and surface water. Special attention was given to the falling groundwater table in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and some places in Andhra Pradesh. The talk showcased to the students the various dimensions the policymakers and Engineers must consider controlling groundwater abstraction so that we are not exhausted from groundwater resources.