Geography Project

1.
2.
3.
4.

Introduction.
Importance of irrigation.
Need of irrigation in India.
Means of irrigation:i) Well irrigation (Advantages and Disadvantages).
ii) Tube well irrigation (Advantages and Disadvantages).
5.
Canal Irrigation.
6.
Tank Irrigation.
7.
Need to conserve water.
8.
Need of water harvesting.
9.
Water shed management system.
10. River valley projects of India.
11. Conclusion.
12. Bibliography
Introduction
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to
the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops,
maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas
and during periods of inadequate rainfall. Additionally, irrigation also has a
few other uses in crop production, which include protecting plants against
frost,

suppressing

weed

growing

in

grain

fields

and

helping

in

preventing soil consolidation. In contrast, agriculture that relies only on

direct rainfall is referred to as rain-fed or dry land farming. Irrigation
systems are also used for dust suppression, disposal of sewage, and
in mining. Irrigation is often studied together with drainage, which is the
natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from a given
area.
Sources of irrigation water can be groundwater extracted from springs or by
using wells,

surface

non-conventional

water
sources

withdrawn
like

from rivers, lakes or reservoirs or

treated

wastewater, desalinated

water or drainage water. A special form of irrigation using surface water

is spate irrigation, also called floodwater harvesting. In case of flood (spate)

water is a diverted to normally dry river bed (wadis) using a network of
dams, gates and channels and spread over large areas. The moisture stored
in the soil will be used thereafter to grow crops. Spate irrigation areas are
in particular located in semi-arid or arid, mountainous regions. While
floodwater harvesting belongs to the accepted irrigation methods, rainwater
harvesting is usually not considered as a form of irrigation. Rainwater
harvesting is the collection of runoff water from roofs or unused land and
the concentration of this. Some of Ancient India's water systems were
pulled by oxen.
Importance of irrigation
Refer: http://www.ikisan.com/Crop%20Specific/Eng/links/ap_irrigation.html
Need of irrigation in India
Textbook Page number 131 133(Importance of irrigation).
Means of irrigation
India is an agricultural country. About seventy per cent of its people depend
on agriculture. Watering is essential for the crops. Agriculture is not
possible without water. We have to depend on rains for water for our fields,
but we do not get rains throughout the year. India gets almost all of its
rainfall during the rainy season from June to September. The rainfall is not
uniform. Some parts get heavy rainfall. The rivers get flooded and damage
the life, property and crops. Some parts get moderate rainfall and some
parts are left without rainfall. The rainfall also varies from year to year. In
some years we get heavy rainfall, while in some other we do not get
sufficient rainfall.

We need regular watering for our crops. The watering of crops is known as
irrigation. There are various means of irrigation used in our country. Some
of them are as follows:1. Well Irrigation: 1st paragraph on page 133. (In brackets and underlined).
Types of well irrigation: TXTBK
2. Tube well irrigation: A tube well is a type of water well in which a long
100200 mm (5 to 8 inch) wide stainless steel tube or pipe is bored into
the underground aquifer. The lower end is fitted with a strainer, and a
pump at the top lifts water for irrigation. The required depth of the well
depends on the depth of the water table.
Canal Irrigation
Canal irrigation in India is one of the principal methods used for improving the
growth of the crops. After wells and tube wells, canal irrigation is the second
most important irrigation source. However, this method is only extended to those
areas that are large level plains of deep fertile soil and are drained by well
distributed perennial rivers. That is why it is quite natural that canal irrigation
procedure is only limited to the plain areas of northern India, valleys of Indian
peninsular

plateau,

coastal

lowlands

etc.

Digging of canals is quite expensive in uneven rocky areas. Moreover, it is of

limited use. Thus, huge lands in the Indian plateau are irrigated through other
methods other than canals. Canals can be both perennial as well as nonperennial. Apart from these canals, there are several stream canals that are
taken off from the rivers without the construction of the barrages. But, in such
cases the beds of the inundation canals are generally at a higher level
comparatively than those of the rivers, the canals get enough water supplies
only when the river is in flood. As a result, the stream canals are of limited use.
Constant attempts have been made to replace the inundated canals by the

perennial ones. In mitigating the miseries and sufferings of the farmers, canal
irrigation works have gone a long way. Every village in India has a pond or tank
for preserving the rain water. Monsoons have been really uncertain in the
country. In those areas where potable ground water is not sufficient like for
instance, the zones of Indian plateau, water is supplied from reserved dams. In
the past, irrigation works were small sized but with the passage of time, larger
canal

irrigation

projects

have

been

made

possible.

Water soaks into the ground under the bed of unlined canal. That is why with the
irregular supplies of water, level of sub-soil water in the canal irrigated areas also
rises. In some areas, where the perennial unlined canals flow at the ground level
and between raised high banks, it is quite possible that the water might reach
the surface and render the cultivable soil entirely waterlogged. In India, canal
irrigation

is

important

in

various

states

like Assam, Jammu

and

Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengaland Haryana. Interestingly, more

than half of the total irrigated area particularly of these states is irrigated with
the usage of canals. Apart from these states, there are several other states
where

canal

irrigation

Pradesh, Tamil

holds

significance.

These

are

Bihar, Madhya

Nadu, Karnataka, Punjab, Bihar and Uttar

Pradesh.

However, every year more and more cultivated land is being made useless in the
canal irrigated areas.
Tank irrigation
Tank design
Water is considered a purifying and regenerative element in India, and is an
essential element of prayer and ritual. Water is also revered because of its
scarcity in western India where dry and monsoon seasons alternate and failure of
the monsoon season means famine and death while plentiful water replacing
irrigations sources is a time of rejoicing. This resulted in building water storage

tanks that combined the practical and sacred.[3] Since ancient times, the design
of water storage has been important in India'a architecture As early as 3000 BC
sophisticated systems of drains, wells and tanks were built to conserve and
utilise water. Tank building as an art form began with the Hindus and developed
under Muslim rule.[4]
An example of the art of tank design is the large, geometically spectacular
Stepped Tank at the Royal Center at the ruins of Vijayanagara, the capital of
the Vijayanagara Empire, surrounding the modern town of Hampi. It is lined with
green diorite and has no drain. The tank was filled by aqueduct.[5]
Village tanks
Ralegaon Siddhi is an example of a village that revitalised its ancient tank
system. In 1975 the village was drought-stricken. The village tank could not hold
water as the earthenembankment dam wall leaked. Work began with
the percolation tank construction by the villagers who donated their labor to
repair the embankment. Once this was fixed, the village's seven wells below the
tank filled with water in the summer for the first time in memory. Now the village
has a supply of water throughout the year.[6]
Temple tanks
Tanks known as "Pushkarni" or "Kalyani" also known as "Kund" in Hindi are
reservoirs with steps leading down to the water, generally found in South India,
and sometimes constructed within the walls of a temple complex. [7]
Bathing in the sacred waters of a temple tank was believed to cure worshippers
of afflictions such as leprosy and blindness.[8] Many temple tanks are decaying
and drying up today.[9]
Stepwells

Temple stepped tank of the Vijayanagara Empire

Stepwells, also called bawdi (Hindi: ) or baoli (Hindi: ), are wells in
which the water can be reached by descending a set of steps. They are most
common in the west of India.
Stepwells were often used for leisure, providing relief from daytime heat. This
led to the building of some significant ornamental and architectural features,
often associated with dwellings and in urban areas. It also ensured their survival
as monuments.
Modern tank management
The development of large-scale water management methods and hydroelectric
generation has replaced much of the local efforts and community management
of water. For example, the state of Karnataka has about 44,000 artificial
wetlands locally constructed over many centuries. At least 328 are threatened
today.[10]
However, recently a tank regeneration movement initiated by communities
and non-governmental organisations (NGO) has arisen.[2] Today, there are
approximately 120,000 small-scale tanks, irrigating about 41,200 km in semiarid areas of India.[11] This constitutes about one third of the total irrigated land
in South India
Need to conserve water
A step to conserve water is the step to secure the future. The most essential
among all the natural resources on earth is water. A drop of water is worth more
than a sack of gold for the thirsty man. If each one of us make efforts to save
water today , it will save us later. Water conservation is the most effective and
environmentally sound method to fight global warming. Water conservation is
what that can reduce the scarcity of water. It aims to improve the efficiency of

use of water, and reduce losses and waste.

Technical methods to conserve water:

Rainwater Harvesting: Rainwater harvesting is the gathering and collection of
water from the rooftop. The traditional method of rain water harvesting is the
most effective and simple way to conserve the water. It means utilization of rain
water for the domestic as well as agricultural purposes. There are three technical
methods of rain water harvesting such as Catchment, Conveyance and
storage. Historical Water Bodies: There are many traditional water bodies which
have been in disuse for the longer time. These bodies can be reused as the
recharging points.
Pond:
Steps should be taken to avoid dumping of sewage into the village ponds. Efforts
need to be made to deepen these ponds with the dragline machines. Garbage
and other waste should not be dumped into the ponds.
Need water harvesting
"Are we condemned to be largely spectators? Can we affect the course of
events? Can we claim 'compassion fatigue' when we show no sign of
consumption fatigue?"
Sebastio Salgado
Water availability per capita has been on the decline in India. Two reasons
have been the increasing demand for water and the increasing
population.The quantum of water available to the country being fixed the
increasing demand reduces per capita water availability.

 Agriculture continues to be the single largest consumer of water however

industrial demand for water shows the fastest growth. Especially South
India and in particular Karnataka is a drought prone region. The state
enjoys the dubious distinction of having the second largest area prone to
drought next only to Rajasthan.
Bangalore gets most of its drinking water from a distance of 95 kms. and a
depth of 500 mts.
It makes ecological and financial sense not to waste a pure natural resource
available in large quantity on ones roof.
In the case of a homebuilder, at an initial stage of construction, investments
in time, design and money are minimal for adopting roof rainwater
harvesting.
Ground water sources are increasingly getting depleted or are getting
polluted. Borewells are either silting up, getting short of water or are
drawing polluted water.
Private purchase of water from tankers is unreliable in quality and is also
expensive.
It encourages water conservation and self-dependence.
it is being recognized that people from various sectors have to become
partners in the solution process and not remain simply as institutional
beneficiaries.
India is blessed with adequate rainfall as a whole, yet there are large
swathes of dry, drought prone area. In many other places the quality of
groundwater is not good. In such places rainwater harvesting can provide
lifeline water for survival and more.

Water shed management system

WATERSHED management basically involves harmonizing the use of soil and
water resources between upstream and downstream areas within a watershed
toward the objectives of natural resource conservation, increased agricultural
productivity and a better standard of living for its inhabitants. Identifying and
addressing the significant externalities associated with watershed is critical for
these objectives to be achieved in a sustainable manner. The Bank of
Netherlands Partnership Programme (BNPP) in India basically aims at this. In
India, watershed development has largely evolved into generic rural
development programmes, though. Despite the broader movement towards more
decentralized and evolved management of natural resources, the sustainability
and equity of public investments in watersheds is being increasingly called into
question. The challenge of identifying and further developing institutional
innovations which have succeeded in overcoming the problems posed
by watershed externalities is an immediate concern and is something which the
Bank of Netherlands Partnership Programme is exploring.
Landscape and climate changes as well as economic developments in
watersheds stimulate a corresponding cascade of dynamic adjustments in both
water quantity and water quality at locations further downstream. Sophisticated
hydrologic simulation models and GIS have become the standard means for
assessing the impact on the water resources system in India. For the last three
decades, the US-inspired International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid
Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad, one among the international links scattered
along the length and breadth of the disadvantaged nations of the world, India
included, has received massive funding from the Consultative Group for
International Agriculture Research (CGIAR).
River valley projects in India

1. Bhakhra Nangal Project = Punjab, Harayana, Rajasthan

- > Its a joint venture of Punjab, Harayana, Rajasthan.
- > Its is India's biggest multi-purpose river valley project so far completed at a
cost of Rs.236 Cr.
- > It consists of a straight gravity dam, 518 mts long & 226 mts high across the
Sutlej at Bhakhra.
- > The Bhakhra dam impounds 986.8 Cr cubic mts of water.
- > The canal system of the project is now irrigating 14.8 lakh hectares.
- > It generates 1204 MW electricity.
2. Chambal Project = Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan
- > The Chambal project being jointly executed by M.P & Rajasthan.
- > In the 1st stage, the Gandhi Sagar dam & its 115 MW power station & the
Kota barrage were completed.
- > The Rana Pratap Sagar dam with a power house of 172 MW capacity was
constructed in the 2nd stage.
- > The 3rd stage comprises the construction of the Jawahar Sagar dam & 99
MW power station.
- > With the completion of all the stages, the project will generate 386MW of
power.
3.Damodar Valley Project = Jharkhand , West Bengal
- > This project conceived for the unified development of irrigation, flood control
& power generation in W.B & Jharkhand.
- > The project is administered by the Damodar Valley Corporation established in
1948.
- > The irrigation potential of the project is about 5.51 lakh hectares & its
installed power generation capacityis 1181MW.
- > It is designed on the lines of Tennesse Valley Authority in the USA.

4. Farakka Barrage = West Bengal

- > It consists of a barrage across the Ganaga at Farakka, another barrage at
Jangipur across the Bhagirathi, a 39 km long feeder canal taking off from the
right bank of teh Ganga, at Farakka & tailing into the Bhagirathi below the
Jangipur Barrage .
- > road - cum - rail bridge over the Farakka barrage have already
been completed.
The basic Aim of Farakka barrage is to preserve & mountain Calcutta port & to
improve the navigatability of the Hooghly river.
- > Farakka is to use 40,000 cusecs of Waterout of water stored in the dam to
flush the Calcutta port which is get silted up.
5. Indira Gandhi Canal
- > It is one of the biggest irrigation project in the world.
- > began in 1958 as Rajasthan Canal.
- > it will provide irrigation facility to N.W region of Rajasthan a part of Thar
desert.
- > The project which the use water from the Pong dam consists of 215 km
long Rajasthan feeder canal & 445 km long Rajasthan main canal lying entirely
in Rajasthan.
- > The project will ultimately irrigate about 14.5 lakh hectares.
6. Hirakud Project = Orissa
- > the 4801.2 mts long main Hirakud dam in Orissa is on the river Mahanadi.
- > its world's longest dam.
- > The project migrates irrigation an area of 11.98 lakh hectares.
- > its present installed power generation capacity is 27.2MW.
7. Kakrapura project = Gujarat

- > it is on the river Tapti, 80km upstream of surat,

- > it is being built by Gujarat government
- > a 621 mts long & 14 mts high weir near Kakrapara in
Surat district was completed in 1963.
8. Koyna project = Maharashtra
- > it is on the river Koyna & has been built by the Government of Maharashtra.
- > it comproses the construction of a 208 ft. high dam
9. Nagarjuna Sagar project = Andhra pradesh
- > it is undertaking of the government of A.P. for utilizing the water of the
Krishna river.
- > it was inaugurated on AUg 4 1967.
- > it is suited near Nandikonda Village in Miryalguda Taluk of Nalagonda District.
- > it is of 1450 mts long & 92 mts high dam.
- > the project will ultimately irrigate about 8.95 lakh hectares.
10. Rihand project = U.P
- > This project comprises construction of a concrete gravity dam across the
Rihand river in Mirzapur districtU.P. & a power house at Pipri & neccessary
transamission lines.
11. Thien Dam = Punjab
- > a 147 mts high dam built by the Punjab government at Thien Village acorss
the Ravi 25 km. upstream of Madhopur head works.
- > it will irrigate 8 lakh hectares land & generate 600MW power renamed as
Ranjit Sagar dam it was dedicated to the nation on March 4 2001 by Prime
Minister Atal Behari Vajpaee.
12. Tungabhadra project = Karnataka & Andhra Pradesh

- > it is a joint undertaking by the government of A.P & Karnataka.

- > it comprises a 2441 mt long & 49.38 high dam the river Tungbhadra near
Malipuram.
- > it irrigates about 10.22 hectres land.