matkas - NCERT

1 You already know that three-fourth of theearth s surface is covered with water, but onlya small proportion of it accounts forfreshwater that can be put to use. Thisfreshwater is mainly obtained from surfacerun off and ground water that is continuallybeing renewed and recharged through thehydrological cycle. All water moves within thehydrological cycle ensuring that water is arenewable might wonder that if three-fourth ofthe world is covered with water and water isa renewable resource, then how is it thatcountries and regions around the globe sufferfrom water scarcity? Why is it predicted thatby 2025, nearly two billion people will live inabsolute water scarcity?

2 WATER SCARCITY AND THE NEED FOR WATERCONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENTG iven the abundance and renewability ofwater, it is difficult to imagine that we maysuffer from water scarcity. The moment wespeak of water shortages, we immediatelyassociate it with regions having low rainfallor those that are drought prone. Weinstantaneously visualise the deserts ofRajasthan and women balancing many matkas (earthen pots) used for collectingand storing water and travelling longdistances to get water. True, the availabilityof water resources varies over space and time,mainly due to the variations in seasonal andannual precipitation, but water scarcity in2021-2224 CONTEMPORARY INDIA IIconsequent greater demands for water, andunequal access to it.

3 A large populationrequires more water not only for domesticuse but also to produce more food. Hence, tofacilitate higher food-grain production, waterresources are being over-exploited to expandirrigated areas for dry-season agriculture is the largest consumerof water. Now it is needed to revolutionise theagriculture through developing droughtresistant crops and dry farming may have seen in many televisionadvertisements that most farmers have theirFig. : Water Scarcitymost cases is caused by over-exploitation,excessive use and unequal access to wateramong different social is then water scarcity likely tooccur? As you have read in the hydrologicalcycle, freshwater can be obtained directlyfrom precipitation, surface run off it possible that an area or region mayhave ample water resources but is still facingwater scarcity?

4 Many of our cities are suchexamples. Thus, water scarcity may be anoutcome of large and growing population andWater, Water Everywhere, Not a Drop to Drink:After a heavy downpour, a boy collects drinkingwater in Kolkata. Life in the city and its adjacentdistricts was paralysed as incessant overnight rain,meaning a record 180 mm, flooded vast area anddisruted Kashmiri earthquake survivor carries water inthe snow in a devastated RESOURCESYou may have already realised that theneed of the hour is to conserve and manageour water resources, to safeguard ourselvesfrom health hazards, to ensure food security,continuation of our livelihoods andproductive activities and also to preventdegradation of our natural ecosystems.

5 Overexploitation and mismanagement of waterresources will impoverish this resource andcause ecological crisis that may haveprofound impact on our wells and tube-wells in their farms forirrigation to increase their produce. But haveyou ever wondered what this could result in?That it may lead to falling groundwater levels,adversely affecting water availability and foodsecurity of the India witnessedintensive industrialisation and urbanisation,creating vast opportunities for us. Today,large industrial houses are as commonplaceas the industrial units of many MNCs(Multinational Corporations). The ever-increasing number of industries has madematters worse by exerting pressure onexisting freshwater resources.

6 Industries,apart from being heavy users of water, alsorequire power to run them. Much of thisenergy comes from hydroelectric , in India hydroeclectric powercontributes approximately 22 per cent ofthe total electricity produced. Moreover,multiplying urban centres with large anddense populations and urban lifestyles havenot only added to water and energyrequirements but have further aggravatedthe problem. If you look into the housingsocieties or colonies in the cities, you wouldfind that most of these have their owngroundwater pumping devices to meet theirwater needs. Not surprisingly, we find thatfragile water resources are being over-exploited and have caused their depletionin several of these far we have focused on thequantitative aspects of water scarcity.

7 Now,let us consider another situation where wateris sufficiently available to meet the needsof the people, but, the area still suffers fromwater scarcity. This scarcity may be due tobad quality of water. Lately, there has beena growing concern that even if there is amplewater to meet the needs of the people, muchof it may be polluted by domestic andindustrial wastes, chemicals, pesticides andfertilisers used in agriculture, thus, makingit hazardous for human s rivers, especially the smaller ones,have all turned into toxic streams. And eventhe big ones like the Ganga and YamunaMULTI-PURPOSE RIVER PROJECTS ANDINTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENTBut, how do we conserve and manage water?

8 A rchaeological and historical records show thatfrom ancient times we have been constructingsophisticated hydraulic structures like damsbuilt of stone rubble, reservoirs or lakes,embankments and canals for irrigation. Notsurprisingly, we have continued this traditionin modern India by building dams in most ofour river your everyday experiences, write a shortproposal on how you can conserve far from being pure. The assault onIndia s rivers from population growth,agricultural modernisation, urbanisation andindustrialisation is enormous and growingby the This entire life : The Citizens Fifth Report, CSE, Structures in Ancient India In the first century , Sringaverapuranear Allahabad had sophisticated waterharvesting system channelling the floodwater of the river Ganga.

9 During the time of Chandragupta Maurya,dams, lakes and irrigation systems wereextensively built. Evidences of sophisticated irrigation workshave also been found in Kalinga,(Odisha), Nagarjunakonda (AndhraPradesh), Bennur (Karnataka), Kolhapur(Maharashtra), INDIA IIWhat are dams and how do they help usin conserving and managing water? Damswere traditionally built to impound rivers andrainwater that could be used later to irrigateagricultural fields. Today, dams are built notjust for irrigation but for electricitygeneration, water supply for domestic andindustrial uses, flood control, recreation,inland navigation and fish breeding. Hence,dams are now referred to as multi-purposeprojects where the many uses of theimpounded water are integrated with oneanother.

10 For example, in the Sutluj-Beas riverbasin, the Bhakra Nangal project water isbeing used both for hydel power productionand irrigation. Similarly, the Hirakud projectin the Mahanadi basin integrates conservationof water with flood projects, launched afterIndependence with their integrated waterresources management approach, werethought of as the vehicle that would lead thenation to development and progress,overcoming the handicap of its colonial Nehru proudly proclaimed thedams as the temples of modern India ; thereason being that it would integratedevelopment of agriculture and the villageeconomy with rapid industrialisation andgrowth of the urban : Hirakud DamWe have sown the crops in AsarWe will bring Bhadu in BhadraFloods have swollen the DamodarThe sailing boats cannot sailOh!