The heat is at its peak in Bokaro for the last 15 days. In the afternoon there is the heat of the sun which burns the body, then in the middle of the night there is disturbing heat due to the disappearing wind. There is neither peace in the day nor rest in the night. For the last two weeks, the maximum temperature is more than 43 degree Celsius and the minimum temperature is 30-32 degree Celsius. In this scorching heat, the flow of the Damodar river, which is called the lifeline of Bokaro, has remained only 30 percent. The condition of its tributaries has also deteriorated. Many rivers have completely dried up. The routine of the people in the rural areas of the district is dependent on the river-pond. Most of the wells have dried up, deep boring and handpumps have given the answer as the water level has gone down a lot. In such a situation, there is an outcry for water in the rural areas.
bank erosion due to drying up of rivers
According to Nitish Priyadarshi, a geologist of Ranchi University, the heat is the reason for drying up of the rivers, but human activities are also responsible. Unscientific lifting of sand and stones from the banks of the rivers is responsible. The sand present on the banks of the river serves to cover the water flowing in excess in the river during the monsoon and rainy season. It releases this collected water into the river in other seasons. Due to this, the flow in the rivers remains even on normal days. But, this process gets stopped due to haphazard sand lifting. Due to this the water level of the rivers is decreasing day by day.
The water storage area of the ponds decreased
The effect of heat is first seen on the water level of ponds and wells. At present, water storage in more than 80 percent of the district’s ponds is at the minimum level. According to the Annual Ground Water Handbook Study Report of Jharkhand State of the Central Ground Water Board, the survey done on the well of Chas and Bokaro railway station of Bokaro district, tells alarm bells. The water level of Chas’s well was 5.63 m BGL in August 2021, which became 6.02 m BGL in November 2021. That is, the water level has increased in the monsoon, but the wells dried up in the cold season i.e. January 2022 itself. Similarly, various ponds of the district are starting to dry up as soon as the summer starts. The reason for the drying up of the pond is the continuous decrease in the water storage area. On one side the bottom of the pond is being filled with silt, and on the other side encroachment is taking place on the bank.
Good job done, but more needed
According to the comparative study of 2020 and 2022 of the Union Jal Shakti Ministry, there has been an improvement of up to 30 percent in the marked area. The total extraction of ground water in the district is 30.51 percent. The study was conducted at nine identified places in the district. Out of these, except Bermo, all are safe in terms of ground water.
Bermo area is in a very sensitive situation in this matter. Every year 31507.50 HAM water underground water is recharged in the district. Whereas the withdrawal is 8834.06 HAM. According to the 2020 study, the drainage of underground water in the Chas area of the district was 81.67 percent, at this time Chas was kept in the semi-critical area, but in the 2022 report, the drainage remained 50.25 percent. According to this study, Chas has joined the Safe Zone. This is a big achievement for the district. Jal Nal Mission ie the work of the district in the direction of providing tap water to every house is also at the third place in the state.
hi summer… oh hard to bear
The heat of summer in Bokaro is such that from 08 in the morning the heat of the sun is becoming unbearable. By 10 o’clock it starts getting very hot. After this it is also becoming difficult to leave the house. People are not able to muster the courage to leave the house even if they want to in the afternoon. Till seven o’clock in the late evening, the gusts of hot wind have lightened the life. There is no coolness in the air till two in the night. The minimum temperature at 4 in the morning is 33 degrees. While 25 degree Celsius is considered as room temperature by scientific methods. It can be understood from this that even the minimum temperature of the district is staying much higher than the room temperature.
Now waiting for the monsoon morning and evening
The heat has troubled the people to such an extent that after hearing the news of the arrival of monsoon in Kerala, every day people are waiting for monsoon and pre-monsoon rains. So that, there will be some relief from the heat. The sky was cloudy in the evening, people heaved a sigh of relief just by looking at the clouds. But, this relief proved to be short-lived. Again the humid heat surrounded.