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Water is one of the most important natural resources, and the development of a particular region depends upon the availability of water to some extent. Rivers are the most important and biggest source of freshwater. Areas which have rivers available to them are more fertile and developed. Hence, India has started river linking projects, and the purpose of interlinking is to make river water available to areas that don’t have access to river water naturally. It helps reduce flood probability in areas prone to frequent floods. Let us take a look at the river linking project in India.
The river interlinking projects in India
The interlinking of rivers connects two or more rivers to form an artificial network and create a reservoir that will help provide river water to areas where it’s not accessible and make the water usage that would otherwise flow into the sea.
The river-linking project is a major project of civil engineering in which the Indian rivers will be connected with the help of numerous reservoirs and canals. This project comes under the Interbasin transfer type of project.
Given below is the purpose of interlinking.
It helps promote better irrigation facilities, and groundwater is recharged and refilled.
The flood probability in the areas more prone to frequent floods can also be reduced by using which network of reservoirs and canals.
The areas to which river water is not accessible and there is a shortage of water can have water available to them using this network.
Let us learn about the various parts of the river interlinking projects.
The parts of the river interlinking projects
The river interlinking project of India is divided into three parts, as given below.
The linking of the northern Himalayan rivers.
The linking of the rivers in the Southern Peninsula.
Intrastate rivers linking
The Ministry of Jal Shakti, India’s national agency for water development, oversees and manages this project and fulfils the purpose of interlinking.
Fourteen interlinking projects are being considered for the interlinking of the rivers in the northern Himalayas. Thirty-seven projects have been proposed by the National Water Development Agency for intrastate river linking. NWDA has proposed 16 inter-link projects for the peninsular component of the project. The purpose of interlinking is to solve the water shortage issues in India. Let us take a look at the history and the benefits of this project.
The history of the river interlinking project in India
The river interlinking project was first proposed for India during British rule. Arthur Cotton, who was an engineer, proposed linking the major rivers of India with each other to Vikram, the important export of goods, and answering the water shortage problems.
Dr.K.L. Rao, a designer of dams who used to be the irrigation minister, proposed the National Water Grid. He suggested that the issue of frequent floods in the north and the water shortage issues in the south of India could be solved with the help of the National Water Grid. In 1982, the National Water Development Agency was established, which studied India’s water situation and various water bodies and proposed many river linking projects. The implementation of this project began in the year 1999.
The advantages and disadvantages of river interlinking projects
Let us first study the advantages of river interlinking projects.
- Irrigation
The river interlinking project makes water available to areas with shortages and makes agriculture possible in such areas of India.
Prevention of Flood
The areas that frequently experience flood-like situations can benefit from the river linking project. The excess water from those areas could be drained and taken away from the rivers of those areas to avoid overflow and floods.
Benefits for drought areas
For the areas that experience frequent droughts and water shortages, interlinking is to provide water that is drained out of flood-prone areas.
The disadvantages of river interlinking
Many dams and reservoirs will have to be constructed for the river interlinking project, and the land in which they are constructed will turn swampy and will no longer be suitable for agriculture.
The construction sites of dams and reservoirs will experience a shortage of food grains and agricultural goods since that area is no longer left fit for agriculture.
Conclusion
India is a vast country that is characterised by diverse geographic conditions. Like Rajasthan and Maharashtra, many states in India receive deficit rainfall and face water shortage issues. Northern India experiences frequent floods. Hence, the National Water Development Agency initiated the river linking project. The purpose of interlinking is to create a network of rivers in India to solve water shortage and drought issues in states in India. The river interlinking project consists of 3 components: The Himalayan component, the Peninsular component, and the Intrastate linking, which constitute 14, 37, and 16 projects, respectively.
