Abstract
The Bhuj Sandstone, a lithostratigraphic unit of Late Mesozoic - Early Cretaceous age, forms a prolific aquifer system in the Kachchh region of Gujarat State, known for acute water shortage and groundwater dependence. The region forms a part of the great arid zone of western India, marked with low rainfall (annual average 376 mm), which is erratic in space and time. The present research, for the first time, has dealt on the groundwater regime and aquifer configuration of the Bhuj Sandstone, also referred as Bhuj Aquifer. A detailed inventory of water levels in post monsoon 2018 and its comparison with 2014 reveals an average fall of 20.62 m during the period. The area is experiencing intensive groundwater mining. Between 2014 and 2018, the net volume of groundwater mined annually is 955 mcm. Considering 104 mcm as annual recharge in 2018, the total groundwater extraction comes out as 1059 mcm, which is more than 10 times of the annual recharge. To tackle such a dismal scenario a host of interventions are urgently needed, which are mentioned in the paper.
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