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.5,nTI!JI India : Water Resour.ces

'There is water hence there is a life.' Any type oflife cannot be imagmed on th e earth Without the
water· There is no other option for water resource. The list of its usages is·very long. Entire biotic World
uses water to sustain itself. The prosperity of any nation depends on its agriculture and th e amount of
water it·uses in it. Water is also required for drinking, domestic uses and in ind 1:1stties. Water shortage
is being created because of the rate and volume at which it is being used by increasing population ilrld
. for development proj~cts. With this consideration, it is necessary to use water sparingly. Water is a limiteii
resource. No other resource can be used in its place. If the environment exists, it is b ~,
so water is an inseparable part of life.
-lr ~ S 2 ! ° ~ :
There are three sources of water: (1) Rain ~ater (2) Surface water (3) Ground water ·
MC~ - · ·
(1) Rain water : 'Rain' is the original source of water on the earth. River, lakes, streams, well etc.
are secondary sources. Alffliesesour~-es axist due to rainfall.
(2) Surface water : The water on the surface the . earth is found
. in the form; of river,
. lake, pond, sea .

streams etc. It is called surface water. Rivers are the main source of surface water.
(3) Ground water: Ground water has an important place among'the sources of water. Ground I
water is obtained due to the process of water absorbed by the lower strata of the land. The volume of
ground water is unlimited. In the Northern plains ofIndia, there is about 42 % ofground water. In Southern
India, there is less ~f ground water due to the plateau and ~ountainous region. Ground water is utilised
maximum for irri~ation
Water resources and uses
Irrigation : About 84 o/o of water in I_ndia is useful for irrigation, e.g. about 1500 litres of water
~ required to produce ]'kg. of wheat. radl:ly,jute and sugarcane Cr:QP,_S reg~ire !P.,_o__r:i :w~t~r--~ at~; i; b_:~~~
used for irrigation since ancient times~ second centucy,Jh.e fam.QYs,Gran~~cu! _canal,~ as
..5-,Y'?(9) § "s the river Kav~ e EastemYamuna Canal was constructe~-in Uttar Pradesh:..:r t\ \'
c,t' C. There are three mediums ofirrigation in India. These.are: (I) wells and tube wells (2) canals (3)
ponds. Out of these, wells and canals are major mediums of irrigation. Canals ~d ponds come at second
and third place respectively. Canal irrigation is practiced in the ~ast p)ain,~ofSatluj1.Ganga and Yamuna
. an
: :d:.a::l.:::
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ons
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M=ah=an
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·, _K_ri_shn_aand.Ka~ri.riY.ers in the EilSli!ffiP-l~s, Wi_e_lls

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and tube wells are very common in alluvial plains. !rrigation by ponds is practiced more in the eastern
and southern states. ·
'.).: 3 H .,M!!!.9-P,_urpese ~ s : Many large and small rivers flow in India. Water transportation is very
~ h in India. This is because its physiography is such that many rivers merge with other rivers and empty
their water into the sea. With the idea that this water may-be h~essed for various purposes, multi-purpose
projects are planned/on many rivers. A multi-purpose project means to solve various problems associated
with river valleys. It ~ Iudes flood control, prs;vention of soil erosion, water for dri!}king and.irrigation,
i;;dustries, water provided to settlements, generation of electricity, internal water transport~•
entertainment, wild life protection and development offishery etcJ·M P - 'fQ be re m Q rn be.r

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Social.Science, Stirndard JO

l
 1-1rloc \<J. ·
ajor Multi-purpose
- Projects of India - .l'.1'"\ P - Mo P ··
'
l

Multi-purpose Project ·River St~tes to be benefitted

i----
.~akhra-Nangal Satluj Punjab, Haryana, Rajasth~
Kosi Kosi - Bibar
vbamodar valley Damodar Jharkhand, West Bengal
-~ d Mahanadi Odisha · c;. e, utn \!!CU.~

. Chambal valley Chambal Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan

-v Nagarjunsagar Kri~ Andhra Pradesh, Telangana
1/Krishnarajsagar Kaveri Karnataka, Tamil Nadu
Tungabhadra Tun~abhadra . Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh
Valley (Sardar Sarovar) Nannada Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, RajaSth an,
Maharashtra ,.

Kadana-Vanak.bori .. Mahisagar Gujarat

Ukai - kakrapar Tapi Gujarat

Dharoi Sabannati · Gujarat

Distribution of area under irrigatio~ :

There is a difference regarding the area under irrigation in every State. Coastal districts in Andhra
Pradesh, delta regions ofGodavari and _Krishna rivers, Mahanadi _delta in Odisha, Kaveri delta in Tamil Nadu,
Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh etc. are regions of intensive irrigation of the country.

---
38 % of net sawn area.
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After Independence, the irrigated area in India has increased four times. Irrigation is practiced in about

There is a difference in the irrigated are as of different States. In Mizoram~ 7 -~.% area of the total
area sown is under irrigation while it is 90.8% in Punjab. The! e is-a;~~t difference between the total
area under irrigation with the total area sown. Mo~e~4_0o/o area of the total area.sown is under irrigation
' in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pra@_s)l,_B._ihN,J.~uJ<.ashmir,.Tamil.Nadu.and.M ~JP.ui_::/ t •'l f'> - S a .
Water crisis ·
. Water is a natural gift. Water shortage is constantly intensified due to increasing demand for grains
by increasing population, to grow cash crops, increasing urbanization and changing life styles of people.
The position of water supply and the inequality in the local distribution are challenges to human interests
livelihood and economic development. - . · . . '
. Now-a-days, the water crisis is in very alarming st~ge in arid regions of Western Rajasthan and the
Ulterior area of southern peninsular plateau . .The quality of water has deteriorated in many villages and
.
me towns. Many water-borne diseases spread due to_this. .
/ ~lability a f pure potable water is the basic need oflife. Apart from the ~ttempts made to increase
th
eavailability of potable water, there is a large difference between the demand of water and its supply E
to.da . . . .. . .0 • ven
to r Y, _there 1s a seYere shortage of dnnkmg water m about 81/o towns in India. It needs to be done
· 1 P ovide clean drinkable water to about 50 % of villages of the country.
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lndia : Water Resources
 /
. 2 f . I
· .1.t. m· India However, 3 o agncu tural rel};
. • th · igation fac1 1 1es ·-----:-----.-,..---... c10t1
There has been a large rncrease m e Irr h · ne down considera~I
· . · d water !eveI as go . Y Ue
still depends on rain water. In _recent times, the groun It the ground wate
d tube wells As a resu , r resour
more and more water is extracted through we 11 s an · d t . . Ce
· tates extract groun wa er m excess volurti ,
has decreased. The country is facing severe problems as some s . b e.
: . . . ·. . d • . easing scarcity have to e 1aced. Besict
Senous problems like reduct10n m the quality of water an _mer ..· .·
· · M ' so].lfcesof water pollutionareooJh 11..,
agriculture, water is used in industries in uncontrolled guantltY: alfl
C · . .
water of domestic uses and jndustries.
Management and conservation of water resources ) H ·
We all know that the available water is in limited quantity, Its distribution is also unequa~. Along With I
there is a problem of water pollution. That is why it is necessary to use th~ water economically and to
conserve the available water. 'Water' is such a resource which is directly associated with the entir~
organisms. The remedies to conserve water are to be done at different stages. The maintenance of Water
· resources is known as 'water cotls~ation'. Some general remedies of water conservation are a~ws.
¥ ore construction of reservoirs for water storage, connectingJw.n.riY.er_basins. .and bringi~ the gr~ d
water at higher level.~ ater is a national resourcgJ"'." MC, ~
Watershed development · -
Watershed is a natural unit and it is used for synthesized development in smaller natural uruts according
to the convenience. A river basin is such an area wherein the water of a river, along with the water of
its branches form~ a watershed. A watershed region is ultimately a river basin only. ~he water during the
rainy season flows forward and finally meets any river. The development of a watershed.is an overall
approach of development. It includes the programmes like soil and humidity conservation, water storage,
tr~e plantation, forestation, horticulture, development of pastureland, renewal of collective resource. In
all .these programmes the land capability and the requirements of people have to be considered.
.
It needs
.the participation oflocal people. Many schemes are planned by the State and the Central Government
Rain Water Harvesting 1 f':-'
~ial methods to collect the rainwater and conserve it~de the construction of wells, small dams,
kb.et talavadi (farm ponds) etc. Water is conserved through these mediums. This also raises the ground
~ atedevel. This may fulfil the requirements of domestic use and-agriculture] ·
Main objectives of rain water harvesting:· ·
• To increase the capacity to conserve the ground water and increase the underground water table.
0

• Reduce the water pollution.

• Improve the quality of ground water.
• To save the land routes from wa~er logging.
• Reduce the surface run offof water.
• Fulfil the requirement of domestic water requirements during s~er and during long dry ~pells.
• Fulfil the increasing demand of water.
• Make arrangement to store rain water in underground~ in multi-storey residence in large cities
or arrangement should be made so that the water percolates in the ground.

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Social Science, Standard IO
 . gs tl1 knOW
fblll .
Water of.the village, water at the border of the village at the border
"Bedaj village s0 Ives
.
· the water
. problem by· water storage. " ·.
The so caHed backward villagers of Bedaj in Aravalli district understood the value of
water and evolved t?e understanding of water harvesting techniques. They converted t~e
entire region into greenery by conserving about 2.25 crore litres (2 lakhs cubic metres) of rain
water. They created an association of the villagers and onted to solve the pritnaTY problem of
f
water and they got th·e cooperation
·
of social institutions of' the village. With the cooperation°
·

the jl)stitution the people ofBedaj village were made aware a~d they all agreed not to allow the
water of the village and to flow out of the village. The village pond, spread Ql only 7 _vighas,
was deepened by 20 to 22 feet. With the financial assistance from the institution, 1O check
dams, 11fann P0rids drip in 25 hectors, pipeline in 10 hectors, deep.ploughs, small dams were
.constrUcted. A.bout 2 lakh cubic metres of rain water was stopped and stored. The st0OYand
dry land was made greener. This pointed a w~y to others. Abou_ t 154 vigha ofland in B~daj
area got the new facility of water supply. Milk production incr~ased by 12.5% in one year,
Water storage increased by 20 to _30 %, due t~ which the fann production also increased .
. Today, zaid crops are ruffling in 136 vigha ofl~d ~fBedaj for water in Megharaj •
Following points should be considered for water management :
, Use water economically for gardens, vehicles, in toilets and wash basins.
• Public awareness should be created. Participationin wate~conservation and its skilled
management should be increased.
• If possible recycle the used water..
• Save the reservoirs from pollution.
• Increase the use of all units of ~ater harvesting strcutures like wells, tube weBs,_~ et talavadi etc.
• Keep a watch on the those units which are using ground water.
• Prevent the deterioration of water storage units and repair the damaged pipe lines immediately
I .I
to stop water pollution. I

Uniform steps can not·be applied for every area. Local people should be included with their due '

cooperation for the development and management of water resources of any special region.
Thus, water should be utilised economically. Various methods are being implemented for :water
conservation. Whether the rainfall occurs or not, the water crisis is pending on i.ls. Whether it is a farm
or a water-place in the house, we have to conserve every drop of water. Water is the life.
Exercise

1. Answer the following questions in details :

(I) State the remedies to conserve the water. ,
(2) Describe the circumstances creating water crisis in India.
(3) Give infonnation about rain water harvesting .

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India : Water Resources