Mahatma Gandhi University Vice-Chancellor A.V. George has called for the preparation of a comprehensive water management plan for the entire State as it faced the possibility of a severe drought. He was inaugurating a seminar on ‘Groundwater Resource of Kerala: Retrospect and Prospects’ organised by the Department of Geology, Government College, Kottayam, on Wednesday. Dr. George, an expert in hydrogeology, suggested that the management plan should be framed after taking into consideration the various geologic and physiographic peculiarities of the State. According to him, the over-exploitation, contamination and unscientific extraction techniques have resulted in the dwindling of groundwater resources throughout the State. He cited that saline water intrusion along the coastal region of Kerala has been a result of injudicious withdrawal of groundwater in the region. Delivering the keynote address, Babu N. Joseph, Director, Department of Groundwater, highlighted the problem caused by the extreme lowering of water table in Chittur taluk of Palakkad. He was of the opinion that the crisis was caused mainly due to the over-exploitation of groundwater. College Principal Leelamma Thomas presided over the inaugural function. Benno Joseph, Head of the Department of Geology; M.C. Vijayakumari, Vice-Principal; J. Venugopal, Head of the Department of Physics; Valsalakumar N., Associate Professor, Department of Botany; and Dilip Kumar P.G., Assistant Professor, Department of Geology also spoke.