Water Resources Test - 5

Multi-purpose projects and large dams have also been the cause of many new social movements like the ‘Narmada Bachao Andolan’ and the ‘Tehri Dam Andolan’ etc.

Irrigation has also changed the cropping pattern of many regions with farmers shifting to water intensive and commercial crops. This has great ecological consequences like salinization of the soil.

The Krishna-Godavari dispute is due to the objections raised by Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh governments. It is regarding the diversion of more water at Koyna by the Maharashtra government for a multipurpose project. This would reduce downstream flow in their states with adverse consequences for agriculture and industry

Most of the objections to the projects arose due to their failure to achieve the purposes for which they were built. Ironically, the dams that were constructed to control floods have triggered floods due to sedimentation in the reservoir.

The floods have not only devastated life and property but also caused extensive soil erosion. Sedimentation also meant that the flood plains were deprived of silt, a natural fertiliser, further adding on to the problem of land degradation.

Many thought that given the disadvantages and rising resistance against the multi- purpose projects, water harvesting system was a viable alternative, both socioeconomically and environmentally.

In hill and mountainous regions, people built diversion channels like the ‘guls’ or ‘kuls’ of the Western Himalayas for agriculture.

‘Rooftop rain water harvesting’ was commonly practised to store drinking water, particularly in Rajasthan as it lies in the desert region rain water is the only abundant source here. In the flood plains of Bengal, people developed inundation channels to irrigate their fields.

In the flood plains of Bengal, people developed inundation channels to irrigate their fields. Rooftop rain water harvesting’ was commonly practised to store drinking water, particularly in Rajasthan.

In arid and semi-arid regions, agricultural fields were converted into rain fed storage structures that allowed the water to stand and moisten the soil like the ‘khadins’ in Jaisalmer and ‘Johads’ in other parts of Rajasthan.