Strange to read articles about water shortage that do not mention how Jaisalmer or other dry parts of Rajasthan manage water. Jaisalmer gets 21 cm of water each year, and yet has no water scarcity (ref http://www.ted.com/talks/anupam_mishra_the_ancient_ingenuity_of_water_harvesting.html).
Let's compare Jaisalmer in Rajasthan to Jalna in Maharashtra, hit by a drought this year:
* Jaisalmer gets 20 cm rainfall/year (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaisalmer)
* Jalna gets 78 cm rainfall/year (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jalna,_Maharashtra)
In 2012, Jalna received 32 cm, ref http://sandrp.wordpress.com/2013/03/30/how-is-2012-13-maharashtra-drought-worse-than-the-one-in-1972/, and is "hard hit" by drought, leading to shortage of drinking water and the threat of famine (http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/04/11/hunger-maharashtra-villages-drought-idINDEE93A0DC20130411).
Some are talking of mismanaged water, creating a man-made crisis in Maharashtra this year. The Aral Sea disaster (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aral_Sea) shows how ill-conceived irrigation schemes can cumulate to create an ecological and economic disaster area.
In Bangalore we talk of water shortages in spite of getting 97 cm of rain/year (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangalore). We destroy the heritage of water management using lakes and watersheds and then fight about the water available to be taken from the Cauvery river, impoverishing its natural flow and causing uncalculated harm to the ecosystem.
Think: these water shortages are man-made, and can be solved with basic civic sense to manage water at a municipal level. How can Bangalore or Jalna learn from Jaisalmer?
Let's compare Jaisalmer in Rajasthan to Jalna in Maharashtra, hit by a drought this year:
* Jaisalmer gets 20 cm rainfall/year (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaisalmer)
* Jalna gets 78 cm rainfall/year (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jalna,_Maharashtra)
In 2012, Jalna received 32 cm, ref http://sandrp.wordpress.com/2013/03/30/how-is-2012-13-maharashtra-drought-worse-than-the-one-in-1972/, and is "hard hit" by drought, leading to shortage of drinking water and the threat of famine (http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/04/11/hunger-maharashtra-villages-drought-idINDEE93A0DC20130411).
Some are talking of mismanaged water, creating a man-made crisis in Maharashtra this year. The Aral Sea disaster (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aral_Sea) shows how ill-conceived irrigation schemes can cumulate to create an ecological and economic disaster area.
In Bangalore we talk of water shortages in spite of getting 97 cm of rain/year (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangalore). We destroy the heritage of water management using lakes and watersheds and then fight about the water available to be taken from the Cauvery river, impoverishing its natural flow and causing uncalculated harm to the ecosystem.
Think: these water shortages are man-made, and can be solved with basic civic sense to manage water at a municipal level. How can Bangalore or Jalna learn from Jaisalmer?
http://www.ted.com/talks/david_sedlak_4_ways_we_can_avoid_a_catastrophic_drought
ReplyDelete1) Stormwater harvesting
2) Wastewater reuse
3) Water conservation
4) Seawater desalination
Shreekant Sambrani: Coping with water wars
ReplyDeleteApr 11, 2016 09:48 PM IST
http://wap.business-standard.com/article/opinion/shreekant-sambrani-coping-with-water-wars-116041101145_1.html
Just think: 6 million litres of water sets off fierce wars of words and litigation in a country that receives 400 million times that amount (2.4 trillion cubic meters, the normal being 3 trillion) as precipitation even in the worst drought years. Allowing for 90 per cent of it to be lost through run-off to the sea or evaporation, the quantum of water the Indian Premier League (IPL) will likely use in Maharashtra is one part of 40 million available to India in the worst case. Why then the controversy?
Because of the supposed ostentatiousness of the use. The drought in many parts of Maharashtra (as indeed elsewhere in the country) is fierce and the monsoon is still a good 10 weeks away. The misery of thirsty regions is heartbreaking and a game of cricket on lush green grounds could be an obscenity. Yet it is also clear that the savings effected by forcing IPL out of the state would be the proverbial drop in the ocean of requirements. This is the diamond-water paradox staring us in the face.
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601861/chinas-massive-effort-to-purify-seawater-is-drying-up/
ReplyDeleteDesalination is expensive ...
Desalination may become cheap. Sorek will profitably sell water to the Israeli water authority for 58 U.S. cents per cubic meter (1,000 liters, or about what one person in Israel uses per week) ... Rs.41/kl, or 4paisa/liter.
Deletehttps://www.technologyreview.com/s/534996/megascale-desalination/
http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability-and-resource-productivity/our-insights/rethinking-the-water-cycle
ReplyDeleteOn a circular economy for water.
In the dispute over Cauvery water, only 2% of the water is left for nature, 98% is assigned for farms and drinking water (in Karnataka, it's 90% for farms and 10% for drinking water).
ReplyDeleteThis is not sustainable! The farmers use ecosystem-diverted water to grow water-intensive crops like paddy (rice) or sugarcane. The river lies 98% stripped of its historic flows, to the detriment of the riverine ecosystem.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaveri_River_water_dispute
http://scroll.in/article/815178/as-tamil-nadu-karnataka-fight-over-sharing-cauverys-warer-farmers-struggle-to-grow-summer-crops
The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal announced its final award in 2007. The tribunal pegged the total availability of water in the Cauvery at 740 tmc ft, of which Tamil Nadu was to receive 419 tmc, Karnataka 270 tmc, Kerala 30 tmc and Puducherry 7 tmc. The tribunal also allotted 10 tmc for environment protection and adjusted 4 tmc for run off to the sea.
http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/cauvery-water-dispute-karnataka-tamil-nadu-supreme-court-3019228/
Karnataka has not accepted the award and has staked claim to 312 tmc ft. This case is currently before the Supreme Court. Tamil Nadu too has sought an increase in its allocation. Karnataka needs 46 tmc ft for irrigation and 28 tmc ft for drinking water needs in Mysore, Bangalore and Mandya from now to June 2017.
http://m.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/ecology-watch-column-when-the-river-weeps/article9111687.ece
ReplyDeleteHarini says, "We need to find ways to recharge the river, increase inflow of water, clean up hotspots of pollution, and increase the efficiency of water use. For this, we must take up afforestation along the river on a war footing, move to water-efficient cropping, limit industrial pollution of rivers, ban excessive sand mining, and limit the growing consumption of water for cities and towns along the river."
First we must agree that human's "rights" on the river water don't extend to water-intensive cash-crop farming, which seems to be the primary political concern, stated in terms of helping our farmers. Our farmers would be better helped by rebuilding the ecosystem to assure sustainable livelihoods.
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/how-bidar-beat-back-the-drought/article18282462.ece Rainwater harvesting in Bidar (Karnataka) at city scale dating back to the medieval Bahamani Sultanate, likely circa AD 1427 by Ahmad Shah Bahmani 'Wali'.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thehindu.com/news/national/getting-water-wise-on-the-farm/article23787179.ece
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/rivers-floodplains-cities-and-farmers/article23395539.ece
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/village-bands-together-to-revive-rivulet/article27256460.ece
ReplyDeleteVillage bands together to revive rivulet in Karnataka
Raviprasad Kamila MANGALURU, MAY 27, 2019 00:21 IST
UPDATED: MAY 27, 2019 00:21 IST
The Swarga Thodu rivulet that has gone dry in Padre village on the Karnataka-Kerala border.
In Padre village, on the Kerala border, talk over the past couple of months hasn’t been about the Lok Sabha polls, but about the 8-km-long ‘Swarga Thodu’, a rivulet, going dry for the first time.
Despite being shocked by the development, the villagers have been quick to start an effort to revive the rivulet, which is the lifeline of the village. After making three rounds along the thodu in the past fortnight to study the situation, a group of like-minded villagers have realised that of the over 20 traditional ‘kattas’ (water storage mud bunds), many have disappeared over the years, leaving only eight, which have also gone dry now. They have prepared a three-step action plan to revive the rivulet along with its 2-km tributary.
As the first step, the kattas lost will be rebuilt from the coming November through ‘shramdan’ and pooling of materials and resources without seeking anything from the government.
People will make a round along the tributary on Tuesday, said Shree Padre, a crusader of many water conservation movements and the brain behind the initiative.
Mr. Padre, who is also executive editor of Adike Pathrike, told The Hindu that rainwater on the upper ridges of the village would be harvested as the second step next year. The rainwater will be made to percolate to the ground by adopting site-specific harvesting methods. It is to prevent flow of mud to the rivulets during heavy rains and make the “shallow aquifer” hold water. With this, clean water can flow into the rivulets during summer. As the third step, in the third year, the team will go door to door, appealing to people to draw water from borewells as a last resort. They will be urged to draw water from open wells, tanks and ‘surangas’ (tunnel wells).
The water-rich village, with the ‘thodu’ being the ‘swarga’ (heaven) of the village, has witnessed an unprecedented drought this year, leading to the drying up of many open wells and borewells, he said. “We are acting before we get to the finish line,” Mr. Padre said.
Sajangadde Srihari Bhat, coordinator of the project, said more than 100 farmer families, having land holdings between two and 10 acres, and farm labourers depend on the main rivulet. “Kattas will help to hold water like a sponge in the summer,” he said, adding that a WhatsApp group has been formed specifically for the revival project.
https://wap.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/devendra-fadnavis-drought-free-maharashtra-plan-by-2019-comes-a-cropper-119053000043_1.html
ReplyDeleteDevendra Fadnavis' drought-free Maharashtra plan by 2019 comes a cropper
Amritha Pillay | Mumbai | Last Updated at May 30 2019 01:17 IST
Devendra-Fadnavis-drought-free-Maharashtra-plan-by-2019-comes-a-cropper
In April 2016, Maharashtra operated the water train to supply drinking water to drought-affected Latur.
In the same year, the state embarked on its Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan to become drought free by 2019. Despite the ambitious plan, 40 per cent of the state is reeling from drought and its water tanker economy is booming.
Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan aimed at making Maharashtra a drought-free state by deepening and widening streams as well as constructing cement and earthen stop dams, nullahs and digging farm ponds.
But, as of February 2019, the state government declared drought in 151 of the 358 talukas.
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/reviving-traditional-water-harvesting-systems-can-unlock-6000-crore-litres-of-water/article27699648.ece
ReplyDeleteFor the entire State (Karnataka), the estimated cost to unlock over 6,000 crore litres, or 2.11 tmcft, of water is ₹300 crore. “It doesn’t take much effort or time to revive these water harvesting systems. What is also key is to provide for their maintenance. Each village has barely one or two of these systems, and local panchayats and local groups should be encouraged to remove silt and weeds periodically,” Mr. Vijay said.