The state of Punjab is intensively cultivated and is contributing large share in the grain basket of the country. However, thirty years after green revolution, we have started experiencing the limitation of intensive resource use without taking care of its long term sustainability. There has been a large scale degradation of land resources due to erosion, salinization and water logging etc. Nearly 25 per cent area of the state is suffering from one or the other land degradation problems. In order to use the land resources judiciously and maintain their productivity, there is a need for sustainable development of these resources. In view of this, the requirement for both accurate and timely information on resources had expanded considerably over the last decade for intedrated resource management with watershed or block as a unit of planning.
An integrated approach using remote sensing offers technologically the appropriate method of studying land and water resources, characterising the coherent agricultural zones and identifying constraints for natural resource management. Integrated studies in selected blocks or watersheds in 175 districts of 25 States of the Country are being undertaken under the Project "Integrated Mission for Sustainable Develompent (IMSD)" coordinated by ISRO, Department of Space. In order to tackle the problems of thick sand cover, soil salinity and water logging and poor quality of ground water in Mansa district of Punjab, India, the integrated resource study for sustainable development was undertaken under the aegis of the project "Natural Resource Development and Management System (NRDMS)" sponsered by the Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India. The present study reports the resource management needs of Bhikhi block of Mansa district.
Study Area
The Bhikhi block of Mansa district (Punjab) covering an area of 402.37 Km2 forms a part of the Indo Gangetic alluvial plain. The Western Himalayas in the north and the Thar desert in the south and south west mainly determine the climatic conditions. The south west monsoon during summer brings the much needed rain bearing depressions from July to September. The area comprises of Indo Gangetic alluvium of Quaternary age. It is an alluvial complex of fluviatile origin deposited by the ancestral tributaries of the Indus River System which include the ancient Satluj River. The area is nearly level, with imperceptible slopes, except for the sand dunes. The study area has the problems of arid climate, thick sand cover (sand dunes), low inherent soil fertility, brackish underground water etc.
Material and Methods
Data Used
- Black and white aerial photographs of March, 1988 on 1:50,000 scale.
- IRS 1A/1B LISS II FCC (print form) of May 1992, October 1992, March 1993 and April 1996.
- Survey of India toposheets pertaining to the area on 1:50,000 scale.
- Block map with village boundaries on 1:50,000 scale (published by Director Land Records, Punjab).
Methodology
The IRS 1A LISS-II, satellite data (geocoded false colour composites) of March/April, 1996 generated from bands 2, 3 and 4 were visually interpreted. Simultaneously the black and white aerial photographs on 1:50,000 scale were also interpreted using mirror stereoscope. Various thematic maps viz. geomorphology, soils and landuse were prepared on 1:50,000 scale following the standard procedures outlined in the IMSD Manual. The water samples were collected randomly from the study area and analysed for water quality parameters following standarad procedures to prepare water quality map. All the maps were integrated to come out with a resource constraint map. Based on resource constraints site specific recommendations were made and action plan map generated for the management and conservation of under utilised areas for optimal returns on sustainable basis.
Results and Discussion
Soils On the basis of physiographic analysis of the satellite data and aerial photographs two major physiographic units viz. alluvial plain and sand dunes were delineated. These were further subdivided based on the tone, texture, pattern, slope and landuse. The alluvial plain is nearly level, intensively cultivated and mostly irrigated. The alluvium was later modified and/or new deposits laid by the occasional shifting of the Satluj river. Originally the Satluj river was an independent river, not belonging to the Indus system, before it joined the Ghaggar in Bikaner. Finally, it abandoned its course in the thirteenth century and joined the Beas river. Due to change in the river course, the tributaries got silted up in due course and resulted in the formation of sand bars. The sand bar deposits seem to have been modified at a later stage by the aeolian action to form sand dunes locally known as tibbas. On the imagery and aerial photographs these can be seen as elongated stretches along the abandoned or filled up channels or both. The present landscape is the result of combined effect of the localised reworking of the previously existing sand dunes by aeolian activity and mechanical shifting of sand in the recent past. Sand dunes occur as elongated stretches, 2 to 8 metres above the general elevation and their strike is parallel to the prominent wind direction.