Ranchi, Feb. 26: Thanks to the state information technology department, parched days in summer might soon come to an end.

The Jharkhand Space Applications Centre (JSAC), which works under the state IT department, has prepared a groundwater prospect map through remote sensing and GIS techniques to identify sites for constructing dams and installing hand pumps.

According to information technology department secretary Ram Sevak Sharma, the drinking water and sanitation department is already using the map for the above purposes.

Sharma added that plans are afoot to ?disseminate and popularise the map in the larger interests of the people?.

Elaborating on the efficacy of the map, Sudhir Prasad, the drinking water and sanitation department secretary, said a field survey was recently done by the JSAC experts at Pithoria where water could be located at a depth of 45 metres.

Pithoria is a water-starved village, with instances of not a single drop of water being found even at a depth of 1,003 feet deep boring.

The map will also help the department to prepare a project to ensure the supply of water by renovating and revitalising ponds and tanks in villages, which will go a long way in bringing an end to the persisting water crisis in summer.

?So far we have made the map at the state level. However, we are also working on preparing a map at the block level so that the location of the underground water can be traced more accurately. This will keep a check on the wastage of money and resources, which has become an inevitability as far as the boring of handpumps or constructing check dams are concerned,? Sharma added.

Moreover, with the help of this map, he added, chances of reaching water sources at a particular location will be about 80 per cent higher. About 20 such locations have been identified in Ranchi district, which also wilts under an acute water crisis during summer, he said.