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The spatial and temporal variations in the hydrochemistry of the Sutlej river in the Indian Punjab were studied based on water quality parameters analysed during pre- and post-monsoon seasons of the years 2017 and 2018. The grab water samples were collected from the river using stratified random sampling and analysed for pH, electrical conductivity (EC), carbonate (CO3−2), bicarbonate (HCO3−), chloride (Cl−), nitrate (NO3−), total hardness, calcium (Ca+2), sodium (Na+) and potassium (K+) using standard methods. Spatio-temporal variations in the parameters used to evaluate the water quality for irrigation (electrical conductivity (EC), residual sodium carbonate (RSC) and sodium absorption ratio (SAR)) were also studied. In order to rate the composite influence of all the physicochemical parameters, water quality index (WQI) was computed. Spatial variations in WQI for drinking and irrigation purposes were studied using the inverse distance weighted method in GIS. Results showed that the river water was alkaline in nature, HCO3− and Cl− are the major anions, and Ca2+ and Na+ are the cations in the river water during both seasons. The regression analysis of EC with cations and anions showed that the regression coefficient was mainly significant with Ca2+ and HCO3−, irrespective of the season. The concentration of ions was not significantly affected by season, but it was higher along transboundary of the river. Total alkalinity of water was significantly (p 85% of the water samples were in good categories for irrigation purposes. According to grades of WQI for drinking purposes, the poor WQI was observed in 3.6%, 3.7% and 5.9% of the samples during pre-2017, pre-2018 and post-monsoon 2018, respectively. The poor water quality index for irrigation purposes was observed in 16.7% and 4.7% of the samples during pre-monsoon 2017 and 2018, respectively. The water quality index values for drinking and irrigation were higher (poor water quality) along transboundary of the river. The ratio of Ca2+/Mg2+, (Na+ + K+)/TZ+ and Ca2+ + Mg2+/(Na+ + K+) indicated both carbonate and silicate lithology contribute to hydrochemistry of the river besides anthropogenic factors. Non-metric multidimensional scaling showed that all the samples are of a similar origin across the river including transboundary, whereas cluster analysis resulted in the two main groups: pH and Cl in the one group, and EC along with the remaining cations and anions in the other group during pre-monsoon, but pH in the one group, and EC along with the remaining cations and anions in the other group during post-monsoon. The high concentration of Cl− is a signature of anthropogenic inputs in addition to the contribution of natural factors. These results suggest that the cultivation of crops on the soils along transboundary may cause the transfer of ions through the food chain to human beings affecting their health. Moreover, drinking of river water by inhabitants living along transboundary may affect their health.

Information about the seasonal groundwater allocation and utilization is essential to effectively manage the stress on the groundwater table of Punjab (India). Modelling and simulation of groundwater level can support in formulating a decision support system for allocation and sustainable use of groundwater resources in the future. In groundwater studies, data-driven approaches can provide a faster and easier solution for modelling and simulation, as compared to the physical models. In this research, two deep learning models, Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) along with one popular statistical regression model, Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) have been used to model, predict, and forecast the groundwater level. Previous 20 years’ pre-monsoon, post-monsoon, and combined annual groundwater level data from three diversified wells of Punjab have been used for the evaluation of the models. Model results are compared in terms of error, correlation and efficiency. Deep learning models perform better than the regression model. MLP results in the best variability representation for the pre-monsoon data while LSTM for the post-monsoon data. Finally, the model results are better when analyzed for the pre- or post-monsoon data format rather than in the combined annual format.

A dashboard is used to view, analyze and manage the key performance indicators of a process or business. It is a kind of information management system. The information in the dashboards can be enhanced by integrating Geographic information systems (GIS) with it. During this age of the pandemic, GIS technologies have been very useful to get a synoptic view of the whole situation and support the global fight against it. This paper reviews a process to build an interactive data driven and GIS based COVID dashboard in a short period of time and that too without any programming skills using Operations Dashboard in ArcGIS Online.

Mansa district in Malwa region of South-West Punjab has gained significant attention due to elevation in number of patients suffering from diverse diseases especially cancer and consumption of contaminated groundwater could be one of the possible reasons. The present study reports the assessment of 59 groundwater samples from Mansa district by evaluating physicochemical characteristics, potentially toxic element (PTE) contamination and associated health implications followed by analysis of water quality status using various indices. Multivariate statistics were applied for source identification of PTEs in groundwater. The study revealed occurrence of PTEs with mean (μg L−1) dominance order of As (650.8) > U (104.14) > Zn (55.3) > Fe (34.4) > Hg (8.3) > Mn (5.1) > Cu (4.1) > Cr (2.7) > Pb (2.4). One hundred and 71.19% groundwater samples were found to be seriously contaminated with As and U, respectively, and posing high cancer risks to local residents via ingestion. Higher hazard indices of 16.64 and 12.85 for children and adults, respectively, indicated high non-carcinogenic health risks to both population groups but children were observed to be more vulnerable. Correlation analysis showed positive correlations of U with total dissolved solids (TDS), fluoride (F−) and total alkalinity (TA). Principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) revealed the contribution of both geogenic (weathering of rocks) and anthropogenic sources (overuse of agrochemicals in agricultural lands and release of inefficiently treated industrial effluents) for deteriorating the groundwater quality of study area. The study counsels the inhabitants to consume treated groundwater as ingestion route was identified as the primary route of exposure.

Mansa district in Malwa region of South-West Punjab has gained significant attention due to elevation in number of patients suffering from diverse diseases especially cancer and consumption of contaminated groundwater could be one of the possible reasons. The present study reports the assessment of 59 groundwater samples from Mansa district by evaluating physicochemical characteristics, potentially toxic element (PTE) contamination and associated health implications followed by analysis of water quality status using various indices. Multivariate statistics were applied for source identification of PTEs in groundwater. The study revealed occurrence of PTEs with mean (μg L

Many a times, it is important for local authorities to have an inventory of land in a very detailed format for planning purposes and acquiring land for development. One such application was to prepare detailed land use/land cover map for developing a new township christened Aerotropolis near Mohali in Punjab for Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA). There are many choices of remote sensing data at hand which includes World View (WV)-II high resolution (HR) satellite data and the more recent drone data. In general, WV-II falls short to map some key features and needs extensive field work to support interpretation. Field work is both time consuming and costly and weather dependent. The present work focuses on the comparison of two data sets to identify drones potential for use in detailed mapping. The study included five villages covering 20 km2 area and located just outside the 5 km limit of Chandigarh International Airport as is required under the Govt. Policy to fly drones. Necessary permissions were also sought from District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police SAS Nagar with information to Airport Authority. A Quadcopter drone with a spatial resolution of 5 cm was flown around 24th April 2018 and data compared with WV-II data of 50 cm spatial resolution of vintage of 5 May 2018. Apparently, WV-II data was marked with shadow effect unlike drone data and therefore, drone could clearly demarcate vacant plots, alleys, buildings, village boundary, drain, trees, electrical line and poles and provided a means for detailed mapping and is, therefore, a fit candidate as a choice for planning and acquiring land for developing new townships.

Over period of time, the water usage and management is under stress for various reasons including pollution in both surface and subsurface. The groundwater quality decreases due to the solid waste from urban and industrial nodes, rapid use of insecticides and pesticides in agricultural practices. In this study, ground water quality maps for Rupnagar district of Punjab has been prepared using geospatial interpolation technique through Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) approach. IDW technique has been used for major ground water quality parameters observed from the field samples like Arsenic, Hardness, pH, Iron, Fluoride, TDS, and Sulphate. To assess the ground water quality of the Rupnagar district, total 280 numbers of samples from various sources of tubewells for both pre and post monsoon have collected. Out of which, 80 to 113 samples found Iron with non potable limits ranging 0.3–1.1mg/l and 0.3–1.02mg/l according to BIS standard for both the seasons respectively. Chamkaur Sahib, Rupnagar, Morinda blocks have been found non potable limit of iron in both pre & post-monsoon. 11 to 52 samples in this region have sulphate with permissible limits in both the season ranging 200–400mg/l and 201–400mg/l. But arsenic had acceptable limit in both the season. Various parameters-wise ground water quality map is generated using the range values of drinking water quality to know the distribution of different parameters and diversification in the concentration of different elements. These maps are very much needful for human being to expand awareness among the people to maintain the Cleanness of water at their highest quality and purity levels to achieve a healthy life.

In developing countries, the lack of infrastructure like GPS (Global positioning system) and GIS (Geographic Information system) have hindered the growth of the police department. This paper proposes a simple, useful and cost effective solution for crime mapping. Google cloud resources like satellite data, application and GIS software have been used to develop this application. The developer requires only a simple computer connected to the internet. The source of crime data is the RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds from various news websites..

A case study has been conducted to identify suitable sites for water harvesting structures in Soankhad watershed, Punjab using information technologies such as Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System (RS-GIS). The IRS-1C, P6 satellite imagery of the Soankhad watershed was used. The various Thematic maps such as land use map, hydrological soil group map, slope map and DEM map were prepared for selecting suitable site for construction of water harvesting structures. The suitable sites were not found for nala bunding and farm ponds due to steep slope, less soil thickness and high runoff velocity. Fourteen check dams and six percolation tanks were proposed for the construction as per Integrated Mission for Sustainable Development (IMSD) guidelines. The water balance study of the Soankhad watershed was also computed with monthly mean temperature and rainfall data using TM model. The average runoff for the wet season (July–September) 1996 was computed to be about 1543.82 mm and the total runoff volume from the Soankhad watershed was estimated to be about 143.52 Mm3.

Bist Doab interfluvial tract in the north-western part of Punjab, India, has been investigated for geomorphic signatures of active tectonics using remotely sensed data and geographical information system (GIS). The anomalous river flow, abrupt changes in flow direction, angular drainage, compressed meanders, asymmetry of river bends, high channel sinuosity, abandoned channels, water-logged and marshy areas observed along the courses of Beas and Sutlej rivers and their tributaries indicate tectonically active nature of the terrain. The strong control exercised by the NE-SW and NW-SE trending lineaments on the drainage network is well evident in the form of long straightened slope deviatory courses, definite changes in channel pattern and sharp knee bend turns taken by the seasonal rivulets. The asymmetric and elongated nature of watersheds and straight to curvilinear mountain fronts quantified through morphotectonic analysis are characteristic of tectonically active settings and further corroborate the evidence of active tectonics.

Objective: To estimate the incidence, short-term outcome, and spatial distribution of stroke patients and to evaluate the completeness of case ascertainment in Ludhiana. Methods: This population-based prospective cohort study was conducted in Ludhiana, Punjab, Northwest India. All first-ever stroke patients (≥18 years) were included between March 2010 and March 2013 using WHO Stepwise Approach Surveillance methodology from the city. Stroke patient data were obtained from hospitals, scan centers, and general practitioners, and details of deaths from the Municipal Corporation. Results: Out of 7,199 stroke patients recruited, 3,441 were included in final analysis. The mean age was 59 ± 15 years. The annual incidence rate was 140/100,000 (95% confidence interval [CI] 133–147) and age-adjusted incidence rate was 130/100,000 (95% CI 123–137). The annual incidence rate for stroke in the young (18–49 years) was 46/100,000 (95% CI 41–51). The case fatality at 28 days was 22%. Patients above 60 years of age ( p = 0.03) and patients who were managed in public hospitals had poor survival ( p = 0.01). Hot spots for cumulative incidence were seen in central and southern parts of the city, and hot spots for poor outcome were seen in the outskirts of the city. Conclusions: The incidence rates are similar to other studies from India. Stroke patient survival is poor in public hospitals. The finding of spatial analysis is of public health significance for stroke prevention and strengthening of stroke services.

The present study attempts to conceptualise an approach to integrate the remotely sensed and spatial≩n-spatial data generated over the years under Crop Acreage and Production Estimation (CAPE) project through GIS for their easy retrieval and comparison; and to develop a program in dBASE to calculate crop acreage using non-spatial attributes imported from GIS. The “Crop Information System” thus developed would help the planners in analysis/comparison of the database related to crops over the years.

Level-II urban land use information available in this Town and Country Planning maps, Survey of India toposteets for Phillaur and Phagwara towns and the land use information generated through visual interpretation of satellite data was digitized, integrated and analysed using PAMAP GIS. The land use map of the two towns suggest that the wastelands located near the point of present disposal can be utilised for siting sewage treatment plants in both the towns. The STP sites suggested were away from the thickly habttared area. It was observed that some of the areas earmarked for locating STP’s, were partially brought under habitation before the execution of the preject. Hence, it is necessary that planning and execution of such projects should be done on a real time basis so that the sites identified for locating STP’s are not brought under other land uses.

Studies on water resources and hydrogeology of an area have become much easier with the help of Remote Sensing Technology. As an attempt to evaluate hydrogeology and ground water conditions of the tehsil Talwandi Sabo, Bathinda district, a hydromorphogeological map of the area was prepared through visual interpretation of satellite imagery. The study shows that the study area, a part of the Indo-Gangetic alluvial plain, is occupied by a large number of sand-dune complexes deposited by the ancient Satluj River while traversing the area during the past. Later on reworking of sand-dunes by aeolian action and their physical removal for agricultural purposes resulted in the present landscape of a plain land with sanddune complexes. Unconsolidated Quaternary alluvial sediments consisting of fine to medium-grained sand with admixture of kankar and some clay constitute the aquifer system of the area. Studies show that ground water occurs under both confined and unconfined conditions with water table at shallow depths. But the quality of the ground water is poor to marginal in most of the area except in the vicinity of main canal (Kotla Branch) where water seepage from canals has made the ground water good in quality.