Abstract
The Gangetic Plain covering ~0.25 million km2 is the primary repository of groundwater in India and is also home to nearly one-third of the ~27 million wells in the country, catering the irrigation sector. The Middle Ganga Plain (MGP) occupying the central part of the Gangetic Plains represents an active depositional basin and represents the thickest sequences of Quaternary sediments in India except the Bengal Basin. The fluvio-lacustrine deposits of MGP have been laid over northerly dipping Precambrian basement. The present paper examines the hydrogeological framework, aquifer characteristics, groundwater flow regime and development potential in two nearly placed segments in MGP; one at the northern bank of the Ganga, occupying southern fringe area of Gandak fan, and the other on the southern bank, located on the northern fringe of the Son fan, a prominent feature of the SGP. The northern segment represents an intensely cultivated area while the southern one is characterized by a wide array of land use, ranging from the urban settlement (Patna town, Population 2.7 million) in the eastern part, semi-urban settlement in the middle and north-western part and typical cultivated areas in the southern part. The aquifers and groundwater regime in the northern and the southern banks of the River Ganga are assessed and measures for aquifer management in this highly groundwater-dependent region are suggested.
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Acknowledgements
The authors express their deep sense of gratitude to the Chairman, CGWB, for his unstinted help and support. Thanks are also due to colleagues of CGWB for their constructive suggestions and discussions during the preparation of this manuscript.
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Saha, D., Dwivedi, S.N. (2018). Groundwater Availability of Northern and Southern Bank Aquifers of the Middle Ganga Plain, India. In: Mukherjee, A. (eds) Groundwater of South Asia. Springer Hydrogeology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3889-1_7
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