Available online www.jocpr.com Journal of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research, 2016, 8(7):637-640 Research Article ISSN : 0975-7384 CODEN(USA) : JCPRC5 637 Physicochemical analysis of groundwater of village Jalalabaad, Dist. Tarn Taran, Punjab Sandip Singh Bhatti 1 , Vaneet Kumar 1 , Vasudha Sambyal 2 and Avinash Kaur Nagpal 1 * 1 Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar- 143005, Punjab, India 2 Department of Human Genetics, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar- 143005, Punjab, India ABSTRACT Water is the biggest necessity for life and in developing countries like India groundwater is the most important source for drinking water, irrigation and industrial purposes. But due to widespread use of harmful chemicals in agriculture, pollution of rivers, industrial effluents etc. groundwater is getting increasingly contaminated with pollutants. This is creating chaotic situations in various parts of our country including Punjab. Considering the ever growing awareness on groundwater pollution, a study was conducted to analyse the physicochemical characteristics of the groundwater of Jalalabaad village in Tarn Taran district of Punjab situated on the bank of the river Beas. Groundwater samples were taken from hand pumps with depth of 50-75 feet and tube wells with depth of 200-225 feet. The results revealed that different parameters like pH, chlorides, conductivity, hardness, calcium content and total dissolved solids were in the permissible limits of Bureau of Indian Standards. However the concentration of nitrates was very low in both the samples. Keywords: Alkalinity, Bureau of Indian Standards, Hardness, Physicochemical characteristics. INTRODUCTION Water is the biggest necessity for life. Drinking water is obtained from a variety of sources, depending on availability of surface water (rivers, lakes, reservoirs and ponds) and groundwater (aquifers) [1]. In developing countries like India, groundwater is the most important source for drinking water, irrigation and industrial purposes. People in rural as well as urban areas are dependent on groundwater for their domestic and occupational needs. Groundwater constitutes about two third of the freshwater resources of the world and if the polar ice caps and glaciers are not considered, groundwater accounts for nearly all usable freshwater [2]. But due to widespread use of harmful chemicals in agriculture, pollution of rivers, industrial effluents etc., and the groundwater is getting increasingly contaminated with pollutants. The physiochemical characters of water can be changed by inflow of different pollutants and nutrients through different sources like sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff, etc. [3]. If these effluents are not treated before their disposal, they can be harmful for human consumption [4]. Low- income communities, which rely on untreated surface water and groundwater supplies for domestic and agricultural uses are the most exposed to the impact of poor water quality [5]. Meteorological events and pollution are main factors affecting the physicochemical parameters such as pH, TDS and conductivity having major influence on biochemical reactions that occur in water [6]. This is creating chaotic situation in various parts of our country including Punjab. Considering the ever growing awareness on groundwater pollution, present study was conducted to analyse the physicochemical characteristics of groundwater of village Jalalabaad, district Tarn Taran, Punjab, India.