All of us know that Goa is blessed with ample amount of rainfall but the geographical nature of this island State that’s full of rivers and creeks is such that most of the water flows into the sea. The State also is known for its traditional agriculture, especially paddy cultivation, ragi, kidney beans, local vegetables, fruits and coconuts, though much of these is becoming a thing of the past now for reasons more than one.
The progressive as well as the traditional farmers in the State are now embracing mechanical ways of farming, thanks to the scarcity of labour. The situation has pushed farmers to take up a variety of crops that require a continuous supply of water throughout the year. And a need to hunt for or arrange additional sources of water has arisen. The industrial estates too require water for processing and other reasons and hence traditional, open wells are falling short. Commercial utilisation of the land also has resulted in filling up the open wells. A culmination of these situations has boosted the bore wells which help in utilising the stream water flowing deep in the soil. As bore wells require lesser space, they can be dug even in a small commercial plot in industrial estates.
A trend of sinking bore wells for water has been witnessed in the past decade in Goa. Following the farmers in other states who have invented an innovative technique of horizontal digging in the wells in search of surplus, Goa too is embracing the method.
Adda bore or side/horizontal bore is the manual technique of digging horizontally in an open well in order to enhance the supply of water. If dug the semi-automatic way the efforts can be reduced a lot. Horizontal bore wells are far more sustainable from vertical bore wells. However there are a few professional teams that carry out this work with an electric motor.
The farmers in the heavy rainfall belt can benefit from horizontal bore wells,” states Shree Padre, a progressive farmer and a content writer from South India where the trend of horizontal bore wells is becoming popular.
Progressive Goan farmers, Mandar Sawaikar, Harshad Prabhudesai and Mahesh K Patil have tried digging horizontal bore wells in their farms. “The yield has increased,” agrees Patil who is planning to sink one more this year. The hard rock makes drilling difficult but there are a few professionals who dig horizontal bore wells in open wells in Goa. A team from Rajasthan also visits Goa to help those interested in horizontal bore wells.
In Goa there are a few who offer their services in digging open well and bore wells for agricultural and industrial purpose and Bhagyashri Borewells is one of them. Run by Narayan Chandra Das, a diploma electrical engineer who has been in the business for 11 years, this company has to its credit around 500 bore wells spread across North and South Goa in equal numbers. It may take him anything between 4-24 hours to dig a bore well, depending upon its location.
“We charge a minimum Rs 700 per meter and this can go up to Rs 2500 per meter too, depending upon the type of soil at the location,” states Narayan who points out that digging wells is a four-month work in Goa as it begins after Diwali. Though in other states digging wells in the monsoons continues, Goa somehow is an exception, he says. Operating from three states, Goa, Maharashtra and Orissa, Narayan has a well-networked team of around 50 employees and a dozen machines which are quite expensive. Unlike many others who have quit the business for want of labour, he is determined to continue.
The type of soil in Goa makes it really difficult to dig a horizontal bore well as the soft soil keeps collapsing. To drill horizontally one needs basalt rock. Such drilling is done for cable, sewage and water pipelines. In Goa, one finds laterite until 15 meters, then 10-12 metres of clay layer and then basalt stone. That’s why one has to dig deep into the soil until one finds water.
In coastal areas there is three meter clay and the rest is sand. “While digging wells at Cuncoliem, Chandor and Nesai we find saline water. At Betoda there is even silica along with salinity,” shares Narayan. But many a times there is no saline water found in the bore wells dug 50 metres from the seashore. Narayan has found pure water at 60 ft deep at such places.
“For open well one has to dig minimum 7 metres deep in the soil. We charge Rs 12,000 per meter. So the cost of an open well can go up to Rs 1 lakh as one has to dig one or two metres deep in the rock bed to get streams,” he explains and adds, “In places like Anjuna, the cost can go up to Rs 5 lakh because in that area there is no spring water until you dig 20-25 meters for 2.5-3 meter radius.”
Speaking on high drilling costs, he explains that the drilling machine requires 72 litres of petrol per hour. Food and accommodation besides the high labour charges along salaries adds to this.
It is not enough that a well is dug up and water springs up. The quality of the water has to be tested in the laboratories to check the TDS content. In Goa the water contains large amounts of minerals like iron, boxite, manganese etc. In such cases a filtration plant has to be installed so that water is filtered before it is used for drinking purpose.
Digging a well is not an easy job and not many are opting for it. Also it needs special skills and practical experience and working in the hot sun. So there is always scarcity of skilled labour. Minimum five persons are required to dig a bore well or operate a truck-bound drilling machine. It is not possible to dig manually for cable laying, piling foundation, anchoring as well as laying earthings if there is hard rock, so professionals like Narayan are always in business.
But there is always shortage of labour as there are no schools in India to train in drilling, especially for wells. There are colleges for oil and gas digging but not for water, cables and sewage pipes. People have to learn on their own. To fill this gap, Narayan is planning to start a school that will offer training in drilling for SSC or 12th passed boys. The training will begin from June to October with exams in November and 100 per cent placement.​ Any takers?​
