“Gaya and Bhagalpur are already experiencing declining groundwater levels and consequent water scarcity.
Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Ara, Munger and Biharsharif may also face the crisis in near future,” they said.
According to a study conducted by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), groundwater reservoirs in as many as 11 blocks of the state are in semi-critical condition.
These blocks are Gaya sadar, Rajgir and Nagarnausa in Nalanda district, Meskaur in Nawada, Kurtha in Arwal, Birpur and Naokothi in Begusarai, Masaurhi and Sampatchak in Patna, Mushhari in Muzaffarpur and Tajpur in Samastipur district.
“Overexploitation of groundwater through deep tube wells is getting the groundwater reservoir depleted faster than it is being replenished.
For a city of nearly 25 lakh people, already facing a major water crisis, the rapid depletion of groundwater would spell doom,” the CGWB scientists said.
Gaya urban area with a population of more than 4 lakh people depends largely on groundwater.
Due to limited recharge from scanty rainfall and the alarming water table decline in the underlying aquifer system, the situation has become worse.
In Bhagalpur urban area, the groundwater level has reportedly declined by 4 to 5 metres in the last four to five decades as the maximum stress of water supply lies on a single deep aquifer in the city.
“Even though there is no considerable decline in the piezometric head in Muzaffarpur urban area, the future demand of the irrigation draft in the fringe area is alarming and demands a sustainable urban water management.