s5c2 chapter 2-facts and figures related to irrigation

Contents of Section 5: Reticular canal system for Interlinking Indian Rivers.Chapter 2-Facts and figures related to Irrigation:2.1-F&F – Poor rain fall.2.2-F&F – Water levels in reservoirs in different seasons.2.3-F&F – Not enough drinking water.2.4-F&F – Fluorosis due to bore well water. 2.5-F&F – No water for irrigation. 2.6-F&F – Over crowded people to collect the water from a tanker.2.7-F&F – Protest for drinking water. 2.8-F&F – Lack of rain leads to low flow of water in the rivers.2.9-F&F – Is it possible to prevent cyclones to certain extent?2.10-F&F – River pollutions and the money spent to clean the same.2.11-F&F – Scarcity of electricity.2.12-F&F – Scarcity of water in the campus.2.13-F&F – Water rationing. 2.14-F&F – Water only for few hours in a day.2.15-F&F – Per capita energy consumption in electricity.2.16-F&F – MDG – clean water to the villages.2.17-F&F – MDG aims better infrastructure.2.18-F&F – MDG – Safe drinking water.2.19-F&F – MDG – water and sanitation.2.20-F&F – Microbiological and chemical quality of water.2.21-F&F – Water and health cost.2.22-F&F – Money on providing safe drinking water.2.23-F&F – Drinking water quality monitoring. 2.24-F&F – Highest rain fall.2.25-F&F – Still people depend on rain water collected in the ponds for domestic use.2.26-F&F – River pollution.2.27-F&F – Rain fall in summer monsoon.

Views to make this ‘World’ developed and this ‘Earth’ as the lovely place for every ‘Human’.

SECTION 5RETICULAR CANAL

SYSTEM FOR

INTERLINKING INDIAN RIVERS

Irrigation – RCS: We need to get what we want as our basic need. Water is the basic need of the life. RCS, a system to

distribute water to the places we need.

Chapter 2. Facts and figures related to Irrigation:2.1. F&F – Poor rain fall.

Source [16] RCS will supply the water continuously to all the places on needy basis and thus people need not wait like this.

2.2. F&F – Water levels in reservoirs in different seasons.

Source: News paper.

Source [17]

Source [18]

Source [19] Water will not come and fill the reservoir in a fraction of seconds; rain is not going to happen like a flash. The raining is the process it takes its own time, and thus the flow of water in its path. Flood is not the mistake of the nature it is the mistake of the people that we have occupied the place of the river when it was at rest and we are suffering when the river is active. All the water which generates in one river basin cannot be stored with any number of reservoirs, thus we need to leave the water to the sea which exceed the capacity of the reservoir and the people will not have any benefit out of it. On the other hand many reservoirs will remain empty waiting for long time for the rain to occur in its catchment area or for the release of water stored at another reservoir. So supply water to all the possible places at the higher level itself, before the water reaches the lower level by assessing the water generation and the flow, not only in the reservoirs of the same river basin, but also to all the river basin. Do the same thing when there is good rain in the other river basin. This is possible by creating RCS. Whatever number of reservoir system we have today with their maximum capacity is not sufficient for this population. RCS distributes water to all the rivers, lakes, ponds, reservoirs and to all the places where ever we want when there is rain at any place which is higher to the place of storage.

2.3. F&F – Not enough drinking water.

Source: News paper.Few decades ago only the surface water was the source of water, later people learnt to extract the underground water through open wells. Now, with the advent of technology in the past three to four decades people are more dependent on the underground water through bore well. The recent development is most of the bore wells are empty because we started using the bore well more than its replenishment. Rain is the major factor which replenishes the surface and underground water sources. If the rain is insufficient then we need to depend on the water where there is more rain. And it is also necessary to take measure to increase the rain everywhere like increasing the forest area. We have already decreased the area of the thick forest which naturally existed for our various purposes, now if we want them to grow again manually which again needs the water. RCS will give solution for all these; the surface water we can use as per our demand, the underground water level will increase everywhere.

2.4. F&F – Fluorosis due to bore well water.

Source: News paper.

Source

Source [20] Nothing of this sort will happen with RCS, because all the people will get purified river (Surface) water for drinking purpose. We need not use the bore wells for any purpose. Surface water is the safe water with respect to the chemical composition of water is concerned unless it is not contaminated (Polluted) by the human activity.

2.5. F&F – No water for irrigation.

Source: News paper.Is it possible to good yield with method? A farmer doing this type of manual work and the yield that he gets with this - is it going to keep him and his family well?

2.6. F&F – Over crowded people to collect the water from a tanker.

Source: News paper.Situations like this will not occur due to ‘scarcity of water’ (excluding the problems associated with the water supply system) with the establishment of RCS.

2.7. F&F – Protest for drinking water.

Source [21] Population over growth in a smaller area land away from the source of water or the demand is more than the supply done by the nature is the cause for all such types of problems. With the establishment of RCS there will not be any scarcity of water for any reasons. With RCS people need not protest like this for water for domestic purposes. The water supply services become better VPA – MV – MN.

2.8. F&F – Lack of rain leads to low flow of water in the rivers.

Source [22] With RCS the people can sown the seeds at the ideal time and they need not wait for the rain fall to occur. In this particular instance all the lands which are below 900mts AMSL will get the water from any one of the tributary of the river Kavery if the rain fall in the Kaveri catchment area is less in that particular year.

2.9. F&F – Is it possible to prevent cyclones to certain extent?

Source [23] With RCS the pressure in the atmosphere over the land and the sea becomes the same and there will be the cloud formation even over the land thus the incidence of cyclones decreases. People may be living in a safe place away from the water path and forest area in the MV, so that there will not be any problems with the water of the flood and from the wild animals.

2.10. F&F – River pollutions and the money spent to clean the same.[Pure misery.More than Rs1700 crore has been spent to clean up the Ganga and Yamuna, the first indisputably India's most sacred and beloved river. Now the new minister for environment and forests, Jairam Ramesh, has admitted that all of that money has been wasted — the rivers are no cleaner today than they were 20 years ago. He has sanctioned more money but along with that, the nation would also like to know what happened to all that money thrown into the rivers for all these years. It is

indeed a matter of shame that that which we hold so dear, we consistently treat so badly. Official cupidity aside, the blame surely applies to us all.Source [24] ] Spending any amount of money for cleaning the rivers will not solve the problem of water pollution because it is again going to contaminate. It is necessary to make sure that no contaminants enter the rivers which are released from the villages and the cities present in the catchment area of the river. And this process should continue and sustain with this increased population in the future also. This is possible with the formation of VPA – MV – MN.

2.11. F&F – Scarcity of electricity.

Source [25] With RCS adequate amount of power can be generated and can be supplied to all the parts of the nation through nationwide grids. These electricity generation stations are created along the course of RCS, at all the possible places where we get optimum height of fall of water from PC to SC in thousands of numbers with better capacity to produce the electricity.

2.12. F&F – Scarcity of water in the campus.

Source [26]

All the places will sufficient water for all the purposes with RCS.

2.13. F&F – Water rationing.

Source [27]

It is not necessary to restrict the usage of water with RCS, all will get sufficient water but we need to avoid the water going waste. Underground water level will rise and all the bore wells will provide sufficient water.

2.14. F&F – Water only for few hours in a day.[Most cities supply water only a few hours a day and none provides 24hour water. A World Bank report says it is an institutional problem in water agencies, or "how the agency is embedded in the relationships between politics and the citizens who are the consumers." Only 13% of sewage is treated according to one estimate, leaving rivers and other water resources under severe strain. Some 700 million Indians do not have access to a proper toilet. Source [28] ] All the villages and cities will get adequate supply of water for domestic use through RCS. The sewage and sullage water generated in the village will be treated and used within the 100 square kilometers of area that is the VPA limit. The VPA will treat the gas, liquid and solid waste in an appropriate manner and the liquid generated will be used to irrigate the tree plantation meant for using this treated waste water and the metals and the plastics will be recycled in a proper manner, within the VPA limit. Thus no waste will be released in to the natural or artificial water path ways.

2.15. F&F – Per capita energy consumption in electricity.[Growth in per capita income raises India's rank.PRESS TRUST OF INDIA.JUNE 30:Per capita energy consumption improved from 173 kilowatt hours in 1980 to 482 kilowatt hours in 1997 while the country consumed 465,867 million of kilowatt hours in 1997. Source [29] ] We will be able to generate more than adequate electricity with RCS.

2.16. F&F – MDG – clean water to the villages.

[MDG and India’s drinking water: racing ahead at what cost?

Keya Acharya; It is ‘nearly impossible’ to monitor a centralized water system in India.

India has committed to the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals (MDG), officially adopted in 2002 by 189 countries. The eight MDGs range from halving, by 2015, extreme poverty to ensuring environmental sustainability. Progress is being actively tracked.

It is within the goal of environmental sustainability that the issue of drinking-water and sanitation has come into focus in India. Beyond committing to halving by 2015, the numbers in India who lack access to safe water and sanitation, India is also a signatory to the U.N. International Year of Sanitation 2008.

The concern is that the racing towards fulfilling the MDG of supplying drinking-water to all is coming at an unduly heavy price. Granted, we have to race towards providing water to all 61 years after independence, but we need to ensure that it is sustainably achieved. Source [30] ]RCS will supply clean water to all the villages. With MV, it is possible to establish one water purification centre in each MV. MV will also look in to the aspect that the water in the natural and the artificial water pathways are not going to contaminate with the waste water generated from the villages and industries.

2.17. F&F – MDG aims better infrastructure.


Government efforts

Initial government efforts to provide drinking-water looked at infrastructure, such as laying of pipes and hand pumps, which turned in the 1970-80s to financial assistance to States for technology. The Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission, in force since 1991 has now morphed into the Bharat Nirman programme for integrated development of roads, electricity, telephone, irrigation and drinking-water infrastructure.

Efforts at sanitation took longer, with the Total Sanitation Campaign (1999) aiming to eradicate open defecation by 2010. Key intervention areas are household latrines and sanitation-education for schools.

With India’s commitment to the MDGs, the budget outlay for the entire spectrum spurted from 16,711 crores in 1992-97 to 39,538 crores in 1997-2002 and 42,000 crores in the 10th Plan till 2007. Source [30] ] Roads, electricity, telephone, irrigation and drinking-water infrastructure becomes automatically better with RCS – CRS – CRTS – MV - MN.

2.18. F&F – MDG – Safe drinking water.


Current achievements

The statistics show significant progress. By 2005, 94 per cent of rural populations and 91 per cent of urban areas had access to safe drinking water, up from 68.2 per cent in the 2001 census. Government data shows 1.27 million of the total 1.42 million rural habitations are fully covered, 0.13 million are partially covered and 15, 917 habitations are not covered. The 11th Plan aims to cover all households.

Forty-eight per cent of rural populations have access to toilets, with the Total Sanitation Campaign operational in 578 of India’s 600 rural districts, aiming to achieve full coverage by 2012, ahead of the MDG’s scheduled 2015. (UNICEF) Source [30] ]

With RCS, it is possible to achieve the safe water concept not only in terms of microbiological parameters, but also in chemical parameters. Bore well water may be good in terms of bacteriological quality, may not be in terms of chemical quality.

2.19. F&F – MDG – water and sanitation.


And current reality Water aid India, however, says the statistics stem more from physical infrastructure than from actual functioning. A 2006 World Bank report notes that piped, treated water is available only for short period’s daily, leaving poor populations vulnerable to other generally polluted sources. Hand-pumps may take months to repair, latrines do not get used for their purpose while blocked sewers and dysfunctional pumping-stations are familiar occurrences in urban areas. Source [30]] With RCS and MV, the physical infrastructure and the actual functioning become better and it is possible to supply the safe water for all the population all the time. All the houses will have better sanitary facilities. People will not be using the bore well water if, its chemical quality is not good. The people who maintain these entire infrastructures will be available in the village itself.

2.20. F&F – Microbiological and chemical quality of water.


Water quality

But the most serious malfunction in India’s water-supply system is its hazardous quality and gigantic cost to human health and our exchequer. Consider this: India ranks 120th out 122 countries in potable water-quality.

In 2005, a Central Pollution Control Board countrywide survey found 66 per cent of samples had unacceptable organic values, while 44 per cent had coli form, occurring generally from faeces.

Chemical contamination through over-exploitation of groundwater, resulting in excessive iron, nitrates, arsenic and fluoride is equally widespread. Even more disturbing is that 80 per cent of the government’s supply is dependent on this groundwater. Arsenic contamination is now grim reality in, ironically, almost the entire Gangetic belt not withstanding its ample rivers while fluoride contaminated drinking-water similarly affects 20 States. Source [30]] The quality of the water supplying system becomes better with RCS and MV. The cost involved in providing the safe water will decrease as the number of village’s decreases from six lakh to less than twenty thousand; thus the pipe line involved in conducting the safe water will drastically decrease. India will top the countries in potable water quality with the establishment of MV. It is possible to supply the water with acceptable organic value and microbiological value with MV. Ground water will be used only when its quality is good.

2.21. F&F – Water and health cost.


Health cost

Not surprisingly, we now have a huge health problem. Around 37. 7 million people are affected by waterborne diseases annually (viral hepatitis, cholera, jaundice, typhoid are examples) while 1.5 million children die from diarrhea alone every year. Ten million people are vulnerable to cancers from excessive arsenic and another 66 million are facing risk of fluorosis, now endemic in 17 States.

Fluorosis is affecting future generations too through pregnant mothers whose anemia is caused by fluorosis, says the Delhi-based Fluorosis Research and Rural Development Foundation. Anemia produces low birth-weight babies who in turn manifest their mothers’ nutritional deficiencies through physical and mental deformities. The organization has data of high fluoride-levels in drinking-water in villages with a prevalence of deformed children from Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Assam and Uttar Pradesh.

The health impacts of drinking-water with other environmental pollutants such as industrial wastes have not even been properly studied yet. Source [30] ] All the water born diseases like viral hepatitis, cholera, jaundice, typhoid, diarrhea, and others can be prevented with RCS – MV, where the RCS will provide continuous and adequate supply of potable water for purification in water purification centre, MV will have better infrastructure for supplying the water to all the people. The chemical quality will also be good with RCS, as it is rain fed surface water, thus the incidence of diseases like cancers, fluorosis, anemia, and so on. With VPA – MV – MN, it is possible make all the pollutants will be treated in the VPA limit itself and it will be recycled, including the wastes generated from the industries.

2.22. F&F – Money on providing safe drinking water.


Cost to the exchequer

India has spent an estimated Rs. 1,105 billion on providing safe drinking water. The World Bank says meeting the MDG target in urban areas requires another approximate 925 billion for the 11th and 12th plans and recurrent expenditures of similar amount.

Meeting the MDG target in rural areas requires approximately Rs.700 billion for the 11th and 12th Plans, with similar recurrent expenditure.

Yet the economic burden from ‘bad’ drinking water remains enormous. Nearly 73 million working days and approximately 2400 crores are lost every year due to illness. The poor, who are the most

vulnerable since they cannot afford to buy potable water, spend approximately 6700 crores on treatment of water-borne diseases.

Mr. Bharat Lal, director of DDWS and Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission admits that water quality has been secondary to providing access and that monitoring the impact of that water subsequently “is not happening.” He also says there is hardly any trained staff to check for pollutants like arsenic and fluoride.

In fact, outside of just four water-testing laboratories and the Fluorosis Research Foundation in Delhi, Gujarat is the only State currently establishing a regional monitoring network. The State’s additional director of family welfare, Vikas Desai, rues that it is “ultimately ‘health’ [health department] that has to deal with the outcome of an essentially environmental problem.” Source [30] ] It is possible to construct most of the MV, with the money, already spent on providing safe drinking water in urban and rural areas, the economic burden from ‘bad’ drinking water and its impact on working days and illness, recurrent expenditure for similar things. It is possible to assess the quality of the water periodically with MV. The health department will have fewer burdens as the people are not suffering from the water borne disease with good supply of drinking water to the people by the RCS and good maintenance by the MV. Continuous and adequate supply of water to the water purification centre is vital, otherwise the water purification centre itself will be contaminated, and the continuous and adequate supply of water will be done by the RCS. Water testing laboratories can be created in all the VPA. The health department will have fewer burdens, as most of the diseases are prevented at the initial steps of disease spreading process.

2.23. F&F – Drinking water quality monitoring.


What to do?

The challenge is huge, but we have no choice but tackle it.

The success of the recently-launched National Rural Drinking Water Quality Monitoring and Surveillance Programme hinges on coordination with the numerous agencies involved in water supply. As Mr. Lal points out, it is ‘nearly impossible’ to monitor a centralized water system in a country this large.

However, dependence on central financing for water schemes could well be leveraged for surveillance-commitments from States. NGOs too need to get involved.

(Keya Acharya is a journalist specializing in environment and development issues.) Source [30] ] Drinking Water Quality Monitoring and Surveillance Programme becomes one of the routines in the VPA, and it will be done in the laboratories attached to the VPA, and the VPA will identify the causes for any change in quality of water and it will rectify immediately.

2.24. F&F – Highest rain fall.[India statistics, facts and figures various world records; - * world record of highest monthly rainfall: 9,300 mm at Cherrapunji, Meghalaya, July 1861 [GBoWR]Source [31] ] This enormous fall of rain in cherrapunji is now joining the river Brahmaputra and then in to the Bay of Bengal. But with the creation of PC4, this water can be utilized on the land in useful ways, which are below the level of 300 mts AMSL, till the south tip of the nation Kanyakumari in south and Rajasthan - Gujarath in the west.

2.25. F&F – Still people depend on rain water collected in the ponds for domestic use.

Source [32] Village in India, which is not planned, in terms of safe drinking water and drainage; Poor over crowded houses, unplanned roads, unplanned sanitary sanitation system, dependency on the stagnant non flowing water for domestic purpose will lead to disease and its consequences on the economy.

2.26. F&F – River pollution.[Most polluted river in India: Yamuna (July 2003) Source [31]] With VPA – MV – MN, all the wastes will be treated in a proper way and the products are recycled, the water which is going to generate after the treatment of sewage – sullage – industrial effluents will be made to irrigate the tree plantation mean for it and it will not be left in to the natural or artificial water pathways.

2.27. F&F – Rain fall in summer monsoon.[Percentage of rain during 4 months summer monsoon: 80 % of yearly rainfall in India. Source [31] ] The rain which is going to occur in the four months of summer monsoon will be effectively utilized to fill all the dams of the nation, all the FPCs, as the FPC will also act as the reservoir in RCS. This

water can be utilized till it get exhausted and later the ever flowing rivers like Ganga – Yamuna – Brahmaputra rivers will feed the RCS in all the time.

Sources:[16] Times of India News paper, Page number 1, dated 25.06.09.[17] Times of India News paper, Page number4, dated 28.06.09.[18] Times of India News paper, Page number6, dated 1.07.09.[19] Times of India News paper, Page number2, dated 26.6.2009.[20] Times of India News paper, Page number 4, dated 30.6.09.[21] Times of India News paper, Page number5, dated 15.5.09.[22] Times of India News paper, Page number4, dated 1.7.09.[23] Times of India News paper, Page number6, dated 28.05.09. [24] www.3dsyndication.com. DNA-Bangalore 20.7.9, Page number 12.[25] Times of India News paper, Page number4, dated 30.6.09.[26] Times of India News paper, dated 30.06.09.[27] Times of India News paper, Page number4, dated 1.07.09.[28] Economy of India. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This page was last modified on 22 February 2009, at 23:16.[29] Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd. Growth in per capita income raises India's rank.mht.[30] The Hindu Opinion - News Analysis MDG and India’s drinking water racing ahead at what cost.mht.[31] Internet: India statistics facts and figures neoncarrot travelog.[32] Google earth.

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s5c2 chapter 2-facts and figures related to irrigation

Environment