Download - Dam It
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:
• 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