Rajasthan Board RBSE Class 12 Geography Notes Chapter 23 Irrigation and Drinking Water
Introduction :
- Water resources are sources of water that are useful or potentially useful to man.
- Uses of water include agricultural, industrial, household, recreational and environmental activities.
- Geographically, Rajasthan is the largest state in area but receives the least rainfall.
- Most of the part of Rajasthan is desert, therefore, there is a great importance of water resources in the state.
- Water resources are mainly centralised in South-Eastern part of Rajasthan.
- The water resources in Rajasthan can be divided into two parts : The surface water resources and underground water resources of the earth.
- The surface water resources of the earth include rivers, lakes, ponds, canals, while wells and tube-wells of underground water resources.
Surface Water Resources :
- The leading rivers in the state are Chambal, Banas, Luni, Mahi, Banganga, Berach, Gambhiri, Sukri, Kali Sindh, Parwan, Meja, etc.
- Rajasthan is the first state to form laws to link the rivers.
- The river-linking program will be helpful for supply of drinking water, and resolving its shortage in the state.
Underground Water Resources :
- Wells and tube-wells are the resources of underground water.
- 70 per cent water is obtained from underground resources for drinking and irrigation purposes.
- For water conservation, participation of individuals, society and government is most essential.
- Khadin, kundi, kui, nadi, johad and ponds are the traditional methods of collecting and storing water.
Water Conservation :
- Water conservation refers to the preservation, control and development of water resources, both surface and underground water, and prevention of pollution.
- Water can be saved by using new technology, sensible water use, preventing forest-destruction, collecting and harvesting rainwater and employing a scientific crop cycle.
- The daily newspaper Rajasthan-Patrika has started a movement named “Amritam-Jalam” for the purpose of water conservation.
Irrigation :
- Artificial provision of water to sustain growing plants is called irrigation.
- The means of irrigation in Rajasthan are wells, tube-wells, canals and ponds.
- The maximum and minimum irrigated areas in Rajasthan are Sriganganagar and Rajsamand respectively.
- 66 per cent of total irrigated fields are irrigated with the help of tube-wells.
- Due to availability of enough drinking water, Chandan Tube Well (Jaisalmer) is called “The Pitcher of Thar”.
- Most of the fields in Jaipur and Alwar are irrigated with the help of tube-wells.
- 33 per cent of irrigated area in Rajasthan is irrigated with the help of canals.
- Sriganganagar ranks first in canal irrigation.
- The third important source of irrigation in Rajasthan is ponds. With their help, 0.7 percent area is irrigated.
- Bhilwara stands first in irrigation by ponds.
- Southern and South-Eastern parts of the state are the best for digging the ponds due to it being a plateau area.
Major Multipurpose Projects of Rajasthan :
Many multipurpose projects in Rajasthan are operating, out of which Chambal, Bhakra-Nangal, Beas and Mahi-Bajaj Sagar are multipurpose projects. While, Indira Gandhi canal, Gang-canal, Gurgaon-canal, Jakham, Bisalpur, Narmada, Israda and Bheekhabhai are large projects.
Indira Gandhi Canal Project :
- Indira Gandhi canal project is the largest project in the world and famous as the lifeline of Rajasthan and by the name of Maru-Ganga.
- Its name was changed from Rajasthan Canal to Indira Gandhi Canal on Novermber 2, 1984.
- The chief objective of this project is to provide water for irrigation, animal herding, fisheries and to supply drinking water.
- Kanwar Sen, the then engineer of Bikaner, presented the plan of formation of this canal in 1948 for the first time.
- The origin of this canal is from Harike barrage dear the confluence of Sutlej and Beas rivers in Ferozepur district in Punjab.
- Indira Gandhi canal has two parts :
(i) Feeder canal and
(ii) Main or principal canal. - Total length of this canal is 649 km. It is 40 meters wide and 6.4 meters deep.
- Under this project, 30 percent of area is irrigated by lift canal and remaining 70 per cent by distributary canal system.
- To the east, 8 lift canals, and to the west, main canals have been constructed.
Chambal Project :
- Chambal project is a joint venture of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
- The objective of the project is to control the floods in Chambal river, irrigation, and generate hydro-electricity and to provide drinking water.
- With the support of this project, Kota has turned into a large industrial city. Also, Chambal area has become a famous tourist spot.
Mahi-Bajaj Sagar Project :
- It is a joint venture of Rajasthan and Gujarat.
- Mahi Bajaj Sagar Dam is situated 16 kilometers away from Banswara town at Borkhera.
- The project has been completed in three stages.
- It is a boon for the tribals of Banswara and Dungarpur.
- Irrigation can be developed in the state by sensible use of underground water, appropriate use of latest technology, drip irrigation method and proper maintenance of the project.
Drinking Water :
- There is a scarcity of drinking water in the state due to dry and semi-arid climate, drought, recurrence of famine, insufficient and irregular rainfall, very low groundwater level, high percent of salt and fluoride in water and indifference towards traditional water sources.
- In Rajasthan, the Centre of Science and Environment and Thar Social Development Society are trying their best to revive the traditional water conservation methods.
- To provide drinking water in Rajasthan, public water plan, water rural plan, national rural drinking water project and Aapni Yojana, etc schemes are being operated.
- Mukhya Mantri Jal Swavalamban Abhiyan is a public campaign, which is being operated in Rajasthan to provide drinking water with the cooperation of government and local community efforts.
- To make the village a self-reliant unit in drinking water through permanent measures, several efforts are being made by the central as well the state government, as also by the non-government organizations.
Glossary :
- Irrigation : Artificial provision of water to sustain growing plants.
- Water Resources : Water resources are sources of water that are useful or potentially useful to man.
- Surface Water Resources : Water that is obtained from the surface of the earth is called surface water resources, i.e. water in rivers, lakes and pond.
- Rainfall: Rainfall is the amount of rainwater that falls in a particular place during a particular time.
- Desert : Arid land with usually sparse vegetation, especially, such land having a very warm climate and less than 25 cm of sporadic rainfall annually.
- Salinity : The concentration of dissolved salt in a given volume of water is called salinity.
- Ground Water : It is the water found under ground in the cracks and spaces of rocks, in soil, sand and rocks.
- Lake : A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land, apart from any river or oudet that serves to feed or drain it.
- Resource : Every material useful for human beings found in the earth or any other planet is called a resource.
- Water Conservation : It refers to the preservation, control and development of water resources, both surface and groundwater and prevention of water pollution.
- Vegetation : Vegetation is an assemblage of plant species and the ground cover they provide.
- Agriculture : The science or practice of farming including cultivation of the soil for growing of crops and rearing of animals to provide food, wool and other products.
- Port : A town or city with a harbour or access to navigable water where ships are loaded and unloaded.
- Multipurpose Projects : Projects which serve more than one purpose are called multipurpose projects. Water resources projects are planned for various purposes like irrigation, hydro-power generation, water supply, flood control, navigation, etc.
- Feeder canal : A canal serving to conduct water to a large canal is called feeder canal. .
- Lift canal : The canal that is built to supply water to an elevated area uses lift canal technology.
- Barrage : The dam that is built for irrigation purposes is called a barrage.
- Mineral : A naturally occurring inorganic substance with a definite chemical composition and a regular internal structure.
- Waterfall : A waterfall is a place where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops in the course of a stream or river.
- Flood : Floods occur when a river overflows its banks if it is carrying so much water that it cannot be confined to its usual course.
- Drought : A drought is a period of below average precipitation in a given region, resulting in prolonged shortage in the water supply, whether atmospheric, surface water or ground water.
- Monsoon : A seasonal wind of south Asia that blows from the south west in summer, bringing heavy rains and blowing from the north-east in winter.
- Water Management : An activity of planning, developing and managing the use and conservation of water is called water management.
- Soil Erosion : The process by which rock or soil is gradually carried away by wind, rain or the sea