An International conference is being organized on the Ground water issues in the country with a theme of “Ground water Vision 2030- Water Security, Challenges and Climate Change Adaptation” from December 11 to 13, 2017. The conference has been organized by the National Institute of Hydrology (NIH), Roorkee and Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) under the aegis of Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Government of India.

Delegates from 15 countries are expected to participate in the conference and 250 research papers will be presented, including 32 Keynote papers. The conference will be inaugurated by Shri Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Water Resources, Ganga Rejuvenation and River Development, Sushri Uma Bharti Union Minster for Drinking water and Sanitation, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minster for Science and Technology, Union Ministers of State for WR, RD & GR Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal and Dr. Satya Pal Singh. The Conference is expected to take stock of present status and challenges of Groundwater management in the country under the changing water use and climatic scenarios.

The Conference is taking place at a time when water scenario in the country, especially the ground water scenario, is getting worse day by day. During the past decades, groundwater usage in the country has grown many folds and today 80% of the rural domestic needs and 65% of the irrigation water requirement and 50% of industrial and urban water needs are sourced from our ground water resources. Over exploitation of ground water has started threatening the sustenance of agricultural activities in many key regions in the country including Punjab, Bundelkhand and Rajasthan posing a grave threat to the food security in future. Moreover, climate change is expected to alter the ground water recharge regimes across the country due to increase in extreme rainfall events. Over exploitation of ground water has also started affecting the ground water quality in many areas from the geogenic source of contaminants such as arsenic. The Conference will discuss these burning issues in 10 focal themes spread over three days. It is expected to look into the synergistic policy options between various sectors linked with water resources in the country and draw a roadmap to address these challenges for the development goals of 2030.

Samir/SKP/JK/IA 

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