Sri Vijaya Puram, Nov 02: A focused, tailor-made one-day training on ‘Ground Water Monitoring System in Andaman & Nicobar Islands’ brought together field engineers of the Andaman Public Works Department (APWD) in Sri Vijaya Puram on Oct. 29. The programme was organised by the Central Ground Water Board (Eastern Region), Kolkata under the mentorship of Dr. Anadi Gayen, Regional Director, who also delivered the keynote address. The day set out a clear, hands-on roadmap for measuring, verifying, and interpreting groundwater data for public supply and planning in the Islands.
The event opened with an inaugural session led by Er. T. K. Prijith Rekh, Chief Engineer, APWD as chief guest, and Dr. Arun Kumar, Superintending Engineer (Planning), in the presence of senior CGWB officials. Technical sessions covered groundwater-level monitoring methods and water-quality monitoring protocols aligned with CGWB SOPs. A session on RTDAS instrumentation introduced practical aspects of installation, sensor care, and data handling. A geophysics module presented local case studies, showing how resistivity and related tools support source siting and the diagnosis of declining yields.
Closing discussions focused on implementation. Agencies agreed to adopt a common workflow for field measurements and documentation and to explore options for collaborative work across departments. The training is expected to help the line department establish an effective, standardised groundwater monitoring system.
More than 100 engineers attended in person, with an additional 50 engineers joining online from distant islands. Senior scientists from CGWB, Kolkata viz. Mr. Tarun Mishra, Mr. Sujit Sarkar, Mr. Atalanta Narayan Chowdhury, Dr. K. C. Mondal, Mr. Bibhuti Bhusan Sahu, and Mr. Rajesh Kumar Sahoo, served as domain experts and resource persons for the training.
