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Waterlogging in North Bihar Plains and Coastal Odisha

Waterlogging occurs whenever water enters the soil at a faster rate than it can drain away. It can be caused by heavy or prolonged rainfall, over-irrigation, flooding or the presence of a permanent or temporary (perched) high water table. The duration and severity of the waterlogging event is influenced by the amount of water entering the system, the topography of the site, soil structure and the water absorbing capacity of the soil.
A large network of rail and road network have developed in both north Bihar plains (Figure 3) and coastal Odhisa, criss-crossing the drainage network. Unplanned construction of rail-road network has not given enough considerations and these have not taken into account proper drainage of flood waters and as a result, a large part of the agricultural areas have been converted into permanent waterlogged areas. Our studies have shown that the intersections of rail-road network and drainage lines (a measure of disconnectivity) increased by ~40 % in north Bihar plains during the period 1955-2010. A recent visit to Puri district in Odisha reveals a similar problem in several blocks. The problem is so severe in some areas that there is no single drop of drinking water available and the local community is completely broke having lost everything to floods and waterlogging. Our interaction with the local administration revealed complete ignorance of the basic understanding of processes and causal factors of floods and waterlogging. This situation needs to be corrected through a consultative process and learning and the proposed knowledge center will facilitate this effectively.
Research on waterlogging problems in India is rather limited and a compilation of the available literature below should be helpful for the research community as well as policy managers.

  • Singh, S.K., Pandey, A.C., 2013; “Geomorphology and the controls of geohydrology on waterlogging in Gangetic Plains, North Bihar, India.” Environmental Earth Sciences, pp. 1–19. (Visit here)
  • Pati, G. C., Choudhury, A., Nayak, R. K., 2012; “Groundwater Management as a Possible Solution to Combat Water Logging and Soil Salinity in Mahanadi Delta Stage–I Command Area, Odisha”. India Water Week 2012 – Water. Energy and Food Security: Call for Solutions. New Delhi. pp.10–14.(Visit here)
  • Nathawat M.S., Rathore V.S., Pandey A.C., Suraj Kumar Singh, Ravi Shankar G., 2010; “Monitoring & analysis of wastelands and its dynamics using multiresolution and temporal satellite data in part of Indian state of Bihar”. International Journal of Geomatics and Geosciences, Vol.1. Issue 3.(Visit here)
  • Pandey, A.C., Singh, S.K., Nathawat, M.S., 2010; “Water logging and flood hazards vulnerability and risk assessment in Indo Gangetic plain”. Natural Hazards, Volume 55. Issue 2. pp. 273–289. (Visit here)
  • Konukcu, F., Gowing, J.W., Rose, D.A., 2006; “Dry drainage: A sustainable solution to waterlogging and salinity problems in irrigation areas?” Agricultural Water Management, Vol. 83. Issue 1–2. pp. 1–12.(Visit here)
  • Gowing, J.W., Wyseure, G.C.L., 1992; “Dry–drainage a sustainable and cost–effective solution to waterlogging and salinisation”.  Proceedings of 5th International Drainage Workshop, Vol. 3, pp. 626–634.
  • Pandey, A.C., Singh, S.K., Nathawat, M.S., Saha, D., 2013; “Assessment of surface and subsurface water logging, water level fluctuations, and lithological variations for evaluating groundwater resources in Ganga Plains”. International Journal of Digital Earth. Vol 6. Issue 3. pp. 276–296. (visit here) 

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