3.3 Additional Questions :
Answer the following questions :
1. What are the advantages of Bhakra Nangal project?
Ans: Bhakra Nangal project is useful for Hydel power generation and also for irrigation.
2. What is Multi-purpose River Valley Project?
Ans: A Multi-purpose River Valley project is a dam project where many uses of the impounded water such as irrigation, generation of electricity, water supply, flood control, recreation, inland navigation, and fish breeding and so on are integrated with one another.
3. What is the main purpose of the Hirakud Project?
Ans: The main purpose of the Hirakud project is to integrate the conservation of water along with flood control.
4. What is meant by ‘Water harvesting’?
Ans: Water harvesting means capturing rain where it falls and making the best use of rainwater at the place where it falls.
5. Why are the bulk of replenishable ground water resources found in North India?
Ans: The bulk of replenishable ground water is found in North India because of sufficient rains. Also the porous land allows the water to seep down to the earth quite easily.
6. Why did Jawaharlal Nehru refer to the ‘Temples of Modern India’?
Ans: This is because; dams will help the development of agriculture and village economy with rapid industrialization and growth of the urban economy.
7. What is known as ‘Palar Pani’?
Ans: In Rajasthan, rain water is called ‘Palar Pani’.
8. Why is the rooftop rainwater harvesting on the decline in Western Rajasthan in recent times?
Ans: In recent times, plenty of water is available in Western Rajasthan due to the Rajasthan Canal and so people do not feel the need to do rooftop rainwater harvesting
9. What is meant by replenishable ground water resources?
Ans: Replenishable ground water resources are those resources which can be used with the help of wells and tube-wells when there is lack of surface water due to less rain or no rain.
10. What is water scarcity?
Ans: When water is not sufficiently available to human beings for drinking and for fulfilling their other needs, then such a situation is described as water scarcity.
11. What is the main objective of Bhakra Nangal Project?
Ans: The main objective of Bhakra Nangal Project is Hydel power production, to provide water for irrigation.
12. What is the traditional use of dams?
Ans: The traditional use of dams is to impound rivers and trap rain water to irrigate agricultural fields.
13. Why were underground rooms adjoining the ‘tanka’ built in Rajasthan?
Ans:
i) To store water until the next rainfall because all other sources are dried up in summer.
ii) To beat the summer heat and to keep the room cool.
14. ‘Some areas with sufficient water availability also suffer from water scarcity’. Why?
Ans:
i) Even if there is lot of water, much of it may be polluted by domestic and industrial wastes.
ii) Chemicals, pesticides and fertilizers and used in agriculture also pollute the water.
iii) The pollutants makes drinking water unfit for human use.
15. Why are dams referred to as Multi-purpose Project today?
Ans:
i) Today, dams are built not just for irrigation. The impounded water is used for generation of electricity, water supply for domestic and industrial uses, flood control, recreation, inland navigation, fish breeding and so on.
ii) The uses of the impounded water are integrated with one another.
16. ‘Dams create conflicts between people’. Explain giving two points.
Ans:
i) In Gujarat the Sabarmati river project farmers were angry and disturbances were caused over the higher priority given to water supply in urban areas, particularly during droughts.
ii) Interstate water disputes were common with regards to sharing the costs and benefits of the Multi-purpose Projects.
17. Why has Gendathur the rare distinction of being rich in rain water?
Ans:
i) In Gendathur (in Mysore) the villagers have installed the rooftop harvesting system to meet their water needs.
ii) Nearly 200 households have installed this system with 80% collection efficiency.
18. What are the adverse effects of irrigation?
Ans:
i) Irrigation has changed the cropping pattern of many regions. Farmers are shifting to water intensive and commercial crops.
ii) Irrigation has led to increase of salinity of the soils.
iii) Irrigation is increasing the social gap between the rich landowners and the landless poor thus transforming the social landscape.
19. What is the importance the aquatic life in the rivers?
Ans:
i) Regulating and damming of rivers affects their natural flow causing poor sediment flow and excessive sedimentation at the bottom of the reservoir. This has resulted in rockier stream beds and proper habitats for the aquatic life in the rivers.
ii) Dams also fragment rivers making it difficult for aquatic fauna to migrate, especially for spawning.
20. What is the importance of water in our life?
Ans: It is important for the survival of all forms of life on earth. Fresh water, which we require for domestic, agricultural and industrial uses, is limited in supply. The other uses of water are:
i) Water is necessary to quench the thirst of men, birds and beasts.
ii) We need water in large quantity for irrigation to increase the agricultural production.
iii) Water is also needed to run our industries.
iv) Water is necessary to cool the atmosphere and to maintain the ecological balance.
21. What are the causes of water scarcity?
Ans: Some important causes of water scarcity are:
i) Out of the total volume of the world’s water, only 2.5% is fresh water.
ii) The ever growing population and the greater demand of water have led to the scarcity of water.
iii) To achieve higher food grain production, water reserves are being over exploited which finally leads to scarcity of water.
iv) The ever increasing number of industries has made the matter worse.
22. Explain how rainwater harvesting in the semi-arid regions of Rajasthan is carried out.
Ans:
i) Almost all houses in semi-arid and arid regions of Rajasthan have underground tanks or tankas for storing drinking water. They are built inside the main house or in the courtyard.
ii) They are connected to the sloping roofs of the house through a pipe. Rain falling on the rooftops will travel down the pipe and get stored in these tankas.
iii) The first spell of rain water is not collected as this will clean the roofs and the pipes. The rainwater from the subsequent showers is collected.
23. Multi – purpose projects and large dams have been the cause of many new social movements like the ‘Narmada Bachao Andolan’ and the ‘Tehri Dam Andolan’. Why?
Ans:
i) Social movements have been started due to large scale displacement of local communities.
ii) Local people had to give up their land, livelihood and meager access to resources and control over resources.
iii) Local people are not benefited from such projects: only the large farmers, industrialists and few urban centres are benefited.
24. Write any two methods of soil conservation.
Ans:
i) Afforestation: Planting of trees is one of the most effective methods of conserving soil. Roots of trees hold soil particles of soil and so there is less soil erosion.
ii) Terracing of hill slopes: On the hills construction of terraces like steps or stairs can prevent soil erosion by reducing the speed of running water.
iii) Construction of check dams: It helps to prevent the spread of gullies by ploughing one end of such gullies. The sediments carried away by water are deposited in the gullies .When the gullies are filled up, thesoil is restored.
Choose the correct Answers :
1. Which one of the following villages has most successfully adapted roof top rainwater harvesting?
a) Korana b) Gendathur c) Satara d) Jaisalmer
2. Tehri Dam Andolan is mainly concerned with the state of:
a) Uttarakhand b) Jharkhand c) Chhattisgarh d) None of these states
3. Bhakra Nangal is constructed on the river :
a) Ganga b) Mahanadi c) Kaveri d) Kosi
4. Damodar valley project is situated on the river :
a) Satluj b) Kosi c) Ganga d) Damodar
5. Indira Gandhi Nehru or Rajasthan Canal is concerned with the states of:
a) Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan c) Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh
b) Bihar, West Bengal and Haryana d) Rajasthan, Gujarat and West Bengal .
6. The Longest dam in the world is:
a) Hirakud b) Bhakra Nangal
c) Nagarjuna Sagar Dam d) Tungabhadra Dam
7. Total volume of fresh water of the world’s water is estimated to be:
a) Only 2.5 per cent b) Only 1.5 per cent
c) Only 7.5 per cent d) Only 8.5 percent
8. The total volume of the world’s water estimated to exist as oceans is:
a) 16.5 per cent c) 36.5 per cent
b) 96.5 per cent d) 88.5 per cent
9. Multipurpose projects have been proclaimed ‘Temples of Modern India’ by:
a) M.K Gandhi b) Atal Bihari Vajpayee
c) Jawarharlal Nehru d) Mrs. Indira Gandhi
10. Which one of the following has caused a poor habitat for the aquatic life in the river?
a) Excessive sedimentation at the river bottom b) Limited flow of water over dams
c) Very less rainfall in the catchment area d) Too much use of forest cover
Answers :
1. Gendakhur 2. Uttarakhand 3. Kosi
4. Damodar 5. Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan 6. Hirakhud
7. Only 2.5 per cent 8. 96.5 per cent 9. Jawaharlal Nehru
10. Excessive sedimentation at the river bottom .