QUESTION 8
GS3
10 marks
Seawater intrusion in the coastal aquifers is a major concern in India. What are the causes of seawater intrusion and the remedial measures to combat this hazard?
WRITE IN
7 min
150 words
What the examiner wants
Explain why seawater is entering coastal aquifers in India and the remedial measures to stop it.
ExplainMake clear how and why it happens: causes, process, and an example for each point.
Demand-wise check
- 1Mechanism: fresh groundwater normally pushes against seawater; when pumping lowers the water table, the saltwater wedge moves inland≈35 words
- 2Causes: over-extraction for farming, industry and cities; sea-level rise and storm surges; reduced river flow and recharge (dams, sand mining); aquaculture ponds; tidal creeks≈35 words
- 3Remedies: pumping limits and well spacing, artificial recharge and check dams, tidal regulators and bandharas, subsurface barriers, injection wells, mangrove and dune restoration, monitoring networks, crop shifts to less water-intensive crops≈35 words
Open in about 20 words and close in about 20.
Answer plan
Mechanism (Ghyben–Herzberg idea)CausesEffectsRemediesConclusion
Where marks usually go
- No Indian region named
- Not separating human and natural causes
Draw this
- Cross-section of a coastal aquifer showing the saltwater wedge moving inland
Value addition
- ExampleGujarat set up a Salinity Ingress Prevention Cell for Saurashtra and Kutch, using tidal regulators, check dams and spreading channels.Government of Gujarat, Narmada, Water Resources Department
- DataCGWB reports saline groundwater pockets along the coasts of Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and West Bengal.Central Ground Water Board
Mapped topper copies
Reviewed public-source references related to this PYQ. Same-syllabus references are labelled separately.
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 41 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Aniket Ranjan · AIR 48 · Page 15 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 19 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Aniket Ranjan · AIR 48 · Page 41 ↗Same syllabus reference
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