Dehradun, Nov. 3 -- Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee) have developed a new water spring in Unchawan village in Uttarakhand's Tehri Garhwal district. Officials said the spring has effectively doubled the lean-season drinking water availability in the area, boosting output from 500 liters to 1,000 liters or more per day. Himalayan springs serve as critical drinking water sources for remote settlements. Officials, however, said that nearly 50% of regional springs have either dried up or experienced drastically reduced flow, particularly in summer. The effort is part of the project titled "Rejuvenation of Drying Springs in Takoli Gad Catchment of Tehri District," funded by Namami Gange, and the Centre's National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) IIT Roorkee serves as the lead institution, with Prof Abhay Anand Singh Maurya from the Department of Earth Sciences acting as principal investigator. The initiative stems from findings published in two studies examining the 143-square kilometre Takoli Gad catchment within the Alaknanda River basin. An official release from IIT Roorkee said that using stable isotopes and tritium measurements, the study revealed that monsoon rainfall contributes nearly 82% of spring recharge, while winter and pre-monsoon precipitation account for 10% and 8%, respectively. Based on the study's findings,a controlled outlet was engineered at the identified water-bearing zone, drawing groundwater safely to the surface along the newly built road leading toward the Chandrabadni temple in Unchawan village, added the release....