ABU DHABI INDIAN SCHOOL –BRANCH1, AL WATHBA

GRADE: X-GEOGRAPHY

CHAPTER – WATER RESOURCES

1. How does water become a renewable resource? Explain.
Fresh water is obtained from surface water and ground water. It is continuously renewed and recharged
through the hydrological cycle. All water moves in the hydrological cycle and ensures that water is a
renewable resource.

2. How does water threaten human welfare? OR why is it necessary to conserve water
resources? Give reasons.
a) Scarcity of water: Due to high population, increasing urbanization and rising standard of living, there
is a growing scarcity of water felt all over India.
b) Use of degraded water: In many areas, people are forced to drink and use polluted water which
causes various water borne diseases.
c) Lowering the water table: Increased use of tube wells in recent years has lowered the water table and
has caused depletion of underground water resources.
d) Inadequate supply water for irrigation; Two third of the cropped area in India is still rainfed which is
uncertain and irregular which affects agriculture.

3. What are the causes of growing water scarcity in India?

i. Variation in the annual rainfall: The rainfall in India is unequally distributed. The desert area of
Rajasthan receives less than 20 cm of annual rainfall and hence is drought prone.
ii. Rapidly growing population: A large population needs more water not only for domestic use but also
for production of more food.
iii. Over exploitation of water resources: For more food production, water resources are over exploited
which leads to its scarcity.
iv. Industrialization and urbanization: Industries require a lot of water for processing and as a cleaning
agent. Much of the energy for industrial use is obtained from hydroelectricity.
v. Urbanization changes the lifestyle of people and demand of water increases. It leads to water scarcity.

4. What are the quantitative and qualitative aspects of water scarcity in India?
i. Quantitative aspects: A large part of India is facing the problem of shortage of fresh water.
Variation in the annual rainfall makes these areas drought prone. Rising population makes the situation
worse.
ii. Qualitative aspects: A number of villages and cities in India are facing the problem of pure drinking
water. Water in these areas is polluted due to domestic and industrial wastes, chemicals, pesticides, and
fertilizers.

5. Why did Jawaharlal Nehru proclaim the dams as the ‘temples of modern India?
Dams would integrate development of agriculture and the village economy with rapid industrialization
and growth of the urban economy. Therefore, Jawaharlal Nehru proclaimed the dams as the ‘temples of
modern India.
6. Why are dams now referred as multipurpose projects?
Dams are now used for number of purposes at a time. They are:
a) Flood control b) Irrigation c) Navigation d) Electricity e) Soil conservation and preservation of wildlife
through afforestation f) Tourism or recreation (F.I.N.E.S.T. ) Hence they are called multipurpose projects.
(Explain points).

7. Why do the dams in India come under great scrutiny and opposition? (What are the
arguments against large dams?)
i. Regulating and damming of river water affect their natural flow causing poor sediment flow and
excessive sedimentation at the bottom of the reservoirs, resulting in rockier streambeds and poorer
habitat for the river’s aquatic life.
ii. Dams prevent the migration and spawning of aquatic fauna.
iii. Construction of dams leads to submergence of land and vegetation leading to its decomposition over
a period of time.
iv. It leads to loss of livelihood to many tribal and village people and find it difficult to rehabilitate them.
v. Dams did create conflicts between people wanting different uses and benefits from the same water.
In Gujarat the Sabarmati-basin farmers agitated against the higher priority given to
water supply in urban areas particularly during drought.
vi. Inter-state dispute also becoming common over sharing the cost and benefit of multi- purpose
river valley projects. (Give example)

8. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of multi-purpose river valley projects.

(Explain the above two answers 6 and 7)

9. What is meant by rainwater harvesting? Mention a few traditional techniques of rainwater

harvesting.
i. It is a technique of increasing the recharge of ground water by capturing and storing rainwater.
ii. Roof top rainwater harvesting was commonly practiced storing drinking water particularly in
Rajasthan.
iii. In the flood plain of Bengal, people developed inundation channels to irrigate their fields.
iv. In arid and semi-arid regions of Rajasthan agricultural fields were converted into rain fed storage
structures that allowed the water to stand and moisten the soil.

10. Discuss how rainwater harvesting is carried out in semi- arid regions of Rajasthan.
i. Almost all the houses in these regions had traditional underground tank or ‘tankas’ for storing drinking
water. (What are Tankas? How are they useful for storing water?)
ii. The tankas could be as large as a big room.
iii. The tankas were part of the well-developed roof top rainwater harvesting system and were built
inside the main house or courtyard. They were connected to the slopping roofs of the houses through a
pipe.
iv. The rainwater, falling on the roof would travel down through the pipe and is stored in the
underground tanks.
11. Describe how modern adaptations of traditional rainwater harvesting methods are being carried
out to conserve and store water.
i. Today in Western Rajasthan the practice of roof top rainwater harvesting is declined due to availability
of ample supply of water from the Rajasthan canal.
ii. In Gendathur, a remote village in Mysore, nearly 200 houses have installed roof top rain water
harvesting system
iii. In Tamil Nadu, the roof top rainwater harvesting structure is made compulsory to all houses across
the state. There are legal provisions to punish the defaulters.
iv. In some areas, the ground water is recharged through hand pumps or using abandoned wells.

12. Name any two social movements against multi-purpose river valley projects.
i. ‘Narmada Bachao Andolan’ ii. ‘Tehri Dam Andolan’ These resistance movements are started against
large scale displacement of local communities.

13. Who are the people benefited by multi-purpose river valley projects?
i. Land owners and large farmers. ii. Industrialists and a few urban centers.

14. How do river valley projects transform social landscape? Give an example.
i. River valley projects increase the social gap between the richer landlords and land less poor.
ii. It creates conflicts between people wanting different uses and benefits from the same water
resources.
iii. In Gujarat, the Sabarmati basin farmers were agitated and almost caused a riot over the
higher priority given to water supply in urban areas, particularly during droughts.

15. What is the Krishna Godavari dispute raised by the Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh Governments?
It is regarding the diversion of more water at Koyna by the Maharashtra Government for a Multi-
purpose project. This would reduce stream flow in their states with adverse consequences for
agriculture and industry.

16. Prove by giving examples that river valley projects fail to achieve the purpose for which they
were built.
i. The dams were constructed to control floods but it has triggered floods due to sedimentation in
the reservoir and due to dam failure. Release of water from dams during heavy rains aggravated the
flood situation in Maharashtra and Gujarat in 2006
ii. Multi-purpose projects induced earthquakes, caused waterborne diseases and pollution resulting
from excessive use of water.

17. What is the ecological consequence of irrigation and changing of cropping pattern?
- Salinization of soils.

18. Name two structures built to harvest water in hilly areas.

- Guls, Kuls.

19. Name two water harvesting system in Rajasthan.

- Khadins- and Johads.
20. What is meant by hydraulic cycle?
- Movement of water in different forms from ocean to atmosphere and from atmosphere to ocean.

21. Define the term ‘matkas’.

These are the earthen pots used by Rajasthan women for collecting and storing water.

22. What is bamboo drip irrigation? Mention any two features of it.
It is an indigenous method of tapping of stream and spring water by using bamboo pipes to irrigate
plantations.
i) These are 200 years old system of irrigation mostly practiced in Meghalaya.
ii) This method saves water and fertilizer by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants iii) It
drips 20 to 30 drops of water per minutes at the root of the plant.

22. Why did the Sabarmati basin farmers agitate and almost cause a riot in Gujarat?
It was over the higher priority given to water supply in urban areas.