Multi purpose river projects and Integrated water resources Management

Std X CBSEAs per NCERT geography textbook

Contemporary India II

Dam – it!

Villagers downstream celebrated and set off fireworks

October 1963

Dakotas of the Indian Air Force dipped their wings overhead.

Which project are we talking about?

Pundit Nehru flicked on the switch of the powerhouse

and opened the sluice gates of the dam.

In his speech dedicating the dam to the nation, he called dams as the

‘Temples of modern India’

Bhakra Dam

Was this the first dam to be built in India?

Photo by Claire Arni and Oriole Henri

The Grand Anicut was built during the Chola Dynasty in the 1st / 2nd century A.D. to harness the waters of the

river Cauvery. Made of stone, the dam is as long as 3 football fieldsIt is the oldest water regulating structures and is still

very much in use.

A dam is a barrier across flowing water

It obstructs, directs or retards the flow of water. It usually creates a reservoir

Surplus water flows out through spillways or weirs

Sluice gates control the flow of water downstream of the reservoir

Power House

Long Distance Power Lines

Turbine

Intake

Sluice gates

Spillways

River

River

Reservoir

Based on size – Large Dams (>15 meters) Major Dams (over 150 meters in height) Sometimes also classified as low, medium and high.

Based on structure and material used - Timber Dams, Arch Gravity Dams, Embankment Dams or Masonry Dams,

with several sub types.

Based on purpose - Saddle dam, Dry dam, Diversion dam

Classification of Dams

Why do you think dams are broader at the bottom than at the top?

Multi-purpose river projects

Earlier dams like the Grand Anicut impounded water for irrigation

Today, as the name suggests – they are

Tehri

Power

Irrigation

Domestic Water Supply

Flood Control

1204 MW

1181MW

815.6 MW

1920 MW

Kutch ,Saurashtra

10 million acres in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan

270 million gallons of drinking water per day to the industrialized areas of

Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand

controls flooding of the lower delta region by the Mahanadi river

prevents floods in the Sutlej – Beas river valley

Tehri

Inland Navigation

Recreation

Fish Breedingdiverts water from the Ganga into the Hoogly during the dry season to flush out accumulated silt and allow navigation through the Hoogly into the port of Kolkata

water-skiing, sailing, kayaking, speed boating and water scooter racing

fifty one species and sub species of fish. Also a water fowl refuge

Temples of modern Indiaindustries

hydropower for electricity

livelihood + fishing

irrigation

water supply

Inland NavigationFlood Control

They were seen as vehicles of development and growth of the Indian economy and

hence worthy of worship

Temples of modern India?

evaporationGreen House Gas emission

Displacement of local tribes

Destruction of historical and archaeological sites

Loss of natural biodiversity

Loss of Livelihood

Fragmentation of river ecosystems and impacts on biodiversity

• Barrier for movement of migratory fish like the salmon, thereby affecting its population.

• Reduction in natural biodiversity along riverbanks due to reduced natural flooding

• Alters water temperature downstream, affecting plant and animal life in the reservoir and the river

Temples of modern India?

Reservoir Sedimentation

Sediments that naturally flow in a river are blocked

Excessive sedimentation on the reservoir bed can trigger floods (ironic, isn’t it!)

Reservoir storage capacity reduces power generation and water availability reduces

Downstream erosion

Lesser sediments reach downstream

Water flow eats into riverbed and shore (erosion) affects biodiversity in and along the river and

increases coastal erosion

Temples of modern India?

Cropping patterns changed to more water intensive crops – affects soil quality

• Inter-state water disputes Maharastra vs. Karnataka and AP Karnataka vs. TN

• Between farmers and urban areas Sabarmati basin Cauvery basin

Water disputes

Other social and ecological impacts:

the disputes.

Let’s play a game

• Divide the class into 5 teams

• Draw as many dashes as in the name of a dam / reservoir / barrage. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

• Team A starts. They guess a letter. The teacher puts in the letter at the correct place, if it is there in that name. Else, the letter is written down on one side.

• A maximum of 10 wrong guesses are allowed.

• The team gets as many points as letters on the side (maximum of 10).

• The team with the lowest number of points wins

Hangman

Source: Maps of India

Point the correct position of the dam/ reservoir / barrage on the map and get 2 points reduced from your points tally

Role play

Activity 1

• A bench of 5 Supreme Court Judges

• A person who will lose his home and lands by construction of a dam

• A passionate environmentalist

• A farmer downstream, plagued by seasonal floods and drought

• An industrialist

• A politician from a nearby urban constituency

Assign the following roles to students

Activity 1

• Select a river in your state

• Let each party put forward their views on the construction of a multi-purpose river project that will directly affect them

• Let each party also put forth solutions for opposing factions

• The judges can take a decision on the project depending on the case put forth

Role Play

Activity 2

• Divide the class into 2 teams

• Discuss the pros and cons of the dam built at Tehri or Koyna

(let the students research the facts before the classroom discussion)

Discussion