TAS unites with NGRI scientists to locate ground water

The Telangana Academy of Sciences (TAS) will join hands with scientists at the city-based National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) to scientifically locate ground-water resources in the state to help farmers among others for digging of borewells in such areas.
"Using scientific methods, the Academy with NGRI scientists will initiate the process to identify the places with availability of more ground-water resources and help farmers and people to take up digging of borewells in Telangana," TAS Honorary Secretary Prof Katta Narasimha Reddy said
For this purpose, TAS is in the process of establishing a laboratory which will have advanced equipment and efforts are on to procure them to meet the needs of the scientists.

"We are trying to take their (NGRI scientists) services to scientifically identify the areas with more ground-water availability to help the farmers in digging borewells in such places so that they do not lose money putting borewells where water is not available," he explained.
Once this programme is successful, TAS will give a report to the government also to take up activity in other places, Reddy said, adding the programme will be initially started in Hyderabad and followed up in other districts.
"We are trying to collect the data which is already available with NGRI and we will ask them to prepare a booklet in Telugu which can be given to farmers," Reddy added.

The Academy, established with the objective of promoting science, is also planning to start mobile laboratories which will be stationed in mandal headquarters to enable students from rural areas to carry out practicals.
"Most government and private schools at mandal levels do not have scientific equipment with them for conducting practicals. So, TAS has planned to start mobile laboratories and vans will be stationed for 10-days in each mandal. We will approach the Telangana government for funding and once approved mobile labs will be launched by December end," Reddy said.
Set up after bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, TAS has about 250 fellows and it has five regional centres in the districts of Nizamabad, Nalgonda, Warangal, Karimnagar and Hyderabad to increase the regional participation.