PROBLEM OF SALT INTRUSION IN AGRICULTURE OF PORBANDAR DISTRICT

Gujarat has the longest coastline of 1600 km, compared to all other Indian states. Porbandar district situated at the Arabian Sea has a coastline of 106 km. This sea shore of Gujarat is a boon for the fisherman because of the fishing industry. While there is saltwater problem in the coastal villages is annoying. Excessive exploitation of groundwater increases the problem of salinity. The area from Porbandar to Una is known as “Lili Naagher” due to its agriculture richness. Bhavnagar district board’s Mahuva is also known as “Kashmir of Saurashtra”. These areas were rich in horticulture crops like coconut, sapodilla, and sugarcane. But due to increasing salinity of the sea, the agriculture here is declining. When salinity of seawater enters in freshwater level, it is called salt intrusion. A few years ago, one or one and half kilometers of land was alkaline saline. But as time went on, the salinity also increased. The salt has reached 15 km in some areas of the coast while 40 km in others. Agriculture is the main livelihood of Porbandar district in the state of Gujarat. Salinity has proved to be a challenging problem for the agriculture of this coastal district. Villages that are close to shore are more prone to salinity intrusion and villages far from shore are less prone to salinity. The salinity of sea saltwater entering in the freshwater level in coastal areas has increased. Such saline water is unusable for agriculture, therefore farming in coastal villages is depends on rainfall. with low or erratic rainfall, the condition of agriculture is deteriorating. Considering the present problem of the district, many measures have been taken by the government for the storage of fresh water.