On Firm Terrain

Not that he complains about it. In fact,taking a diametrically opposite view of the scenario he says that the excessive field work has sharpened his skills of pinpointing groundwater locations so that there is minimal wastage in drilling and loss of resources.

Ahmed’s claim to fame,however,lies in his success rate. With a success rate of around 70 per cent he says that modern techniques have helped a lot to bring water to these starved lands. After touring villages throughout the state and meeting people who he says “were forgotten by god”,Ahmed has taken it upon himself to help them out. Narrating one such incident about the problems of Jat Taluka in Sangli he says,“The Ankalgi Lake had run dry and there was absolutely no water to supply to the people. We began examining the land using electrical sensitivity methods. We discovered areas which were possible sites for extracting ground water and succeeded. We found spots near the lake,which were marked and the villagers drilled deep to get water. It was such a beautiful sight. That sense of happiness on their face was priceless,” he says.

But Ahmed is critical of the people too. “The people are greedy. The rich farmers keep drilling deeper in search of more water to multiply profits. But what about the next generation? How will they sustain? How will the land sustain? These are hard questions that we have to answer ourselves if we hope to sustain a beautiful planet,” he says.

Taking the conversation back to his own job,Ahmed explains that there is a big bone of contention about the difference between geologists and geophysicists. “Geologists work with the available topography and the upper soil structures to help identify problems,while we use physics,making use of the earth’s electrical,magnetic and resistive properties to pinpoint water sources. The divide now has reduced with geologists working with us to help alleviate water problems in the state,” he says.