Crops bloom as CSIR-NGRI percolation tank makes water rise up to surface

Aquifer recharge project in water-scare rocky area transforms socio-economic profile of area

“This is fantastic! This is what scientists look forward to where their work helps the community at large,” gushed CSIR Director-General Shekhar C. Mande. A group of villagers from neighbouring areas gathered as he surveyed the five acre percolation tank inside the sprawling 100 acre campus of the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) housing the geomagnetic observatory at Choutuppal, about 65 km from here, on the weekend. The aquifer recharge project in the water scare rocky area taken up more than five years ago has transformed the socio-economic profile of the area which earlier used to be dependent solely on groundwater with high levels of dissolved flouride.