About Us
ASRA (Aquifer Storage & Recovery for Sustainable Agriculture) is a groundwater based project, funded by Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, ACIAR under the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Government of Australia. It is supervised under the team of four professors and three research fellows at School of Ecology and Environment Studies, Nalanda University, Rajgir, Bihar, India.
The objective of this project is to deliver a model of aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) technology using seasonal flood waters in the region of South Bihar. This model aims to provide the opportunity to farmers of the region to raise their incomes from agriculture and allied activities, through assured irrigation from the reuse of water stored beneath the surface during episodes of high rainfall, run-off, and waterlogging.
Our work primarily involves aquifer mapping in the project area, assessment of social perception about technology adoption, measuring environmental risk due to groundwater depletion, etc. The project will be patronized for one and half year long by ACIAR, till 31 June, 2020 with sanctioned funding of around INR 7.5 millions.
Project Area
The current project site is located in the state of Bihar in India. Its a village by the name of Nekpur located in the Rajgir block of Nalanda district. Rajgir is a famous tourist place for followers of Buddhism, Jainism as well as Hinduism. In the south, village is surrounded by beautiful Rajgir hills.
The economic activities in Nekpur village are primarily centred around agriculture and allied activities. This village was selected because of rising water challenges observed in the area and its proximity to Nalanda University which allows for regular surveys of the fields in village.
