Trekkers to collect info on springs in Sahyadri range
worked in Sikkim too

by Swati Shinde GoleSwati Shinde Gole, TNN | Jul 18, 2011,


Natural springs in the mountain ranges of Sahyadri will now be identified. A Pune-based NGO, Advanced Center for Water Resources Development and Management, will take the help of a Mumbai-based group of trekkers, Girimitra Pratishthan, to create a database of such water bodies so that they can be conserved.

Suhas Joshi, a member of Girimitra Pratishthan, said, "The project, 'Sahyadri springs', largely thrives on the information given by trekkers and nature lovers. Once a good database is created, the science behind these springs could be understood. This will also help us conserve them."

A similar project is being carried out in Sikkim for which this Pune-based NGO has trained the Sikkim government officials. So far, close to 538 springs have been identified there. Inspired by this, Girimitra thought of replicating the project in Sahyadri.

"Springs are natural discharge of groundwater and hence each spring has its unique characteristics. They have specific recharge areas and such areas need to be protected. In fact, almost all major rivers along the Western Ghats originate from springs, making them culturally important too. I believe, springs must have been indicators for locating many of the mountain forts in Maharashtra," said Himanshu Kulkarni, executive director of Advanced Center for Water Resources Development and Management.

A contributor will have to identify springs and give it a code number. The spring ID will include abbreviation of the location, followed by the fort where it is located, the base village, taluka, river basin as well as the latitude, longitude and elevation. He can also click a picture of the spring and upload the information on the project website www.sahyadrisprings.org

Once trekkers and nature lovers collect all the desired information, they will have to fill in a form available on the website with all the required information. The information will then be updated in the database.

Kaustubh Mahamuni, a researcher at the NGO, who designed the guidelines for identifying the springs said, "Many of the springs are located at high altitudes and gathering information about them will be possible only through a participatory effort involving trekkers and mountaineers. Springs are perhaps the only sources of safe and sustainable supply of water to thousands of habitations in various mountain ranges of India. At the same time, they are a part of a larger system, a system that includes soils, rocks, vegetation and water behaving in myriad ways."

Eminent ecologist Madhav Gadgil, who is also supporting the project, said, "To address the important challenge of taking good care of India's environment, we clearly need substantial, good quality, information. Unfortunately, pertinent information is in very short supply. Most of it is collected through the state machinery, and is of poor quality, highly incomplete, indeed, often quite misleading. The only recourse is for us citizens, especially those who love nature as trekkers do, to collect good quality information and bring it out in public domain."

Gadgil further said, "Citizens are a great repository of detailed information on many facets of their local environment. Those who love to spend time in the outdoors ought therefore to play an important role in this process."