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India - drainage
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The term drainage describes the river system of an area. The area drained by a single river system is called a drainage basin.
The drainage systems of India are mainly controlled by the broad relief features of the subcontinent. Accordingly, the Indian rivers are divided into two major groups:
- The Himalayan rivers; and
- The Peninsular rivers.
Most of the Himalayan rivers are perennial. It means that they have water throughout the year. These rivers receive water from rain as well as from melted snow from the high mountains. The two major Himalayan rivers, the Indus and the Brahmaputra originate from the north of the mountain ranges. They have cut through the mountains making gorges. The Himalayan rivers have long courses from their source to the sea. They perform intensive erosional activity in their upper courses and carry huge loads of silt and sand. In the middle and the lower courses, these rivers form meanders, oxbow lakes, and many other depositional features in their floodplains. They also have well-developed deltas.
A large number of the peninsular rivers are seasonal, as their flow is dependent on rainfall. The peninsular rivers have shorter and shallower courses as compared to their Himalayan counterparts. Some of them originate in the central highlands and flow towards the west. Most of the rivers of peninsular India originate in the Western Ghats and flow towards the Bay of Bengal.
More than 90 per cent of India's total surface run-off flows into the Bay of Bengal and the rest into the Arabian Sea. Only a small area in Rajasthan has internal drainage. The drainage systems flowing into the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal are separated by a water divide extending approximately along the Western Ghats, Aravallis and Yamuna Sutlej divide. All rivers rising from areas to the west of this water divide flow into the Arabian Sea and those rising to the east of this line flow into the Bay of Bengal. Rivers Narmada and Tapi (Tapti) are the only major exceptions to this generalisation. Indian rivers are broadly divided into two major groups on the basis of their source regions, namely the rivers of the Himalayan region and the rivers of the peninsular region.
2.0 DRAINAGE PATTERNS OFINDIA
Over time, a stream system achieves a particular drainage pattern to its network of stream channels and tributaries as determined by local geologic factors. Drainage patterns or nets are classified on the basis of their form and texture. Their shape or pattern develops in response to the local topography and subsurface geology. Drainage channels develop where surface runoff is enhanced and earth materials provide the least resistance to erosion.
The texture is governed by soil infiltration, and the volume of water available in a given period of time to enter the surface. If the soil has only a moderate infiltration capacity and a small amount of precipitation strikes the surface over a given period of time, the water will likely soak in rather than evaporate away. If a large amount of water strikes the surface then more water will evaporate, soaks into the surface, or ponds on level ground. On sloping surfaces this excess water will runoff. Fewer drainage channels will develop where the surface is flat and the soil infiltration is high because the water will soak into the surface. The fewer number of channels, the coarser will be the drainage pattern.
2.1 Types of drainage systems in India
Dendritic drainage system: When the river channel follows the slope of the terrain, it develops dendritic pattern. The stream and its tributaries resemble the branches of a tree. Hence, it is called a dendritic pattern.
It develops in regions underlain by homogeneous material. That is, the subsurface geology has a similar resistance to weathering so there is no apparent control over the direction the tributaries take.
Parallel drainage system: Parallel drainage patterns form where there is a pronounced slope to the surface. A parallel pattern also develops in regions of parallel, elongate landforms like outcropping resistant rock bands. Tributary streams tend to stretch out in a parallel-like fashion following the slope of the surface. A parallel pattern sometimes indicates the presence of a major fault that cuts across an area of steeply folded bedrock. All forms of transitions can occur between parallel, dendritic, and trellis patterns.
Trellis drainage system: When a river is joined by its tributaries at almost right angles, it develops a trellis pattern. It develops where hard and soft rocks exist parallel to each other. Down-turned folds called synclines form valleys in which resides the main channel of the stream. Short tributary streams enter the main channel at sharp angles as they run down sides of parallel ridges called anticlines. Tributaries join the main stream at nearly right angles.
Rectangular drainage system: The rectangular drainage pattern is found in regions that have undergone faulting. Streams follow the path of least resistance and thus are concentrated in places were exposed rock is the weakest. Movement of the surface due to faulting off-sets the direction of the stream. When rocks are strongly joined, then rectangular pattern develops.
Radial drainage system: This pattern develops around a centrally elevated point. When the streams flow in different directions from a central peak or dome like structure, a radial pattern develops.
Deranged drainage system: Deranged or contorted patterns develop from the disruption of a pre-existing drainage pattern.
Annular drainage pattern: This is a drainage pattern in which streams follow a roughly circular or concentric path along a belt of weak rock, resembling in plan a ringlike pattern. It is best displayed by streams draining a maturely dissected structural dome or basin where erosion has exposed rimming sedimentary strata of greatly varying degrees of hardness, as in the Red Valley.
Water has become a highly precious resource. There are some places where a barrel of water costs more than a barrel of oil. So the management of water is very important. Drainage map helps to calculate how much water can precipitate in a particular region which is important for the analysis of the ground and surface water management.
3.0 THE RIVER SYSTEMS OF INDIA
The rivers of India play an important role in the lives of the Indian people. The river systems provide irrigation, potable water, cheap transportation, electricity, and the livelihoods for a large number of people all over the country. This easily explains why nearly all the major cities of India are located by the banks of rivers. The rivers also have an important role in Hindu mythology and are considered holy by all Hindus in the country. Ganga Mata remains the source of nirvana for many. The massive Indus Valley civilisation that flourished alongside the Indus river (and Ghaggar-Hakra / Saraswati rivers) thousands of years ago is the proof of our civilisation’s river-affinity.
Seven major rivers along with their numerous tributaries make up the river system of India. Most of the rivers pour their waters into the Bay of Bengal; however, some of the rivers whose courses take them through the western part of the country and towards the east of the state of Himachal Pradesh empty into the Arabian Sea. Parts of Ladakh, northern parts of the Aravalli range and the arid parts of the Thar Desert have inland drainage. All major rivers of India originate from one of the three main watersheds:
- The Himalaya and the Karakoram ranges
- Vindhya and Satpura ranges and Chhota Nagpur plateau in central India
- Sahyadri or Western Ghats in western India
3.1 Indus river system
The Indus river originates in the northern slopes of the Kailash range near Lake Mansarovar in Tibet. Although most of the river's course runs through neighboring Pakistan, a portion of it does run through Indian territory, as do parts of the courses of its five major tributaries, listed below. These tributaries are the source of the name of the Punjab region of South Asia; the name is derived from the Persian words Punj ("five") and aab ("water"), hence the combination of the words (Punjab) means "five waters" or "land of five waters".
Beas: The Beas originates in Beas Kund, lying near the Rohtang pass. It runs past Manali and Kulu, where its beautiful valley is known as the Kulu valley. It joins the Sutlej river near Harika, after being joined by a few tributaries. The total length of the river is 470 km.
Chenab: The Chenab originates from the confluence of two rivers, the Chandra and the Bhaga, It is also known as the Chandrabhaga in Himachal Pradesh. It runs parallel to the Pir, entering the plains of Punjab near Akhnur and is later joined by the Jhelum. It is further joined by the Ravi and the Sutlej in Pakistan. It runs for 960 km.
Jhelum: The Jhelum originates in the south-eastern part of Kashmir, in a spring at Verinag. Its length is 813 km.
Ravi: The Ravi originates near the Rotang pass in the Himalayas and follows a north-westerly course. It turns to the south-west, near Dalhousie, and then cuts a gorge in the Dhaola Dhar range entering the Punjab plain near Madhopur. It flows as a part of the Indo-Pakistan border for some distance before entering Pakistan and joining the Chenab river. The total length of the river is 725 km.
Sutlej: The Sutlej originates from the Rakas Lake, which is connected to the Manasarovar lake by a stream, in Tibet. It enters Pakistan near Sulemanki, and is later joined by the Chenab. It has a total length of 1450 km.
3.2 The Brahmaputra river system
The Brahmaputra originates in the Mansarovar lake, also the source of the Indus and the Satlej. It is slightly longer than the Indus, but most of its course lies outside India. It flows eastward, parallel to the Himalayas. Reaching Namcha Barwa (2900m), it takes a U-turn around it and enters India in Arunachal Pradesh and known as dihang. The undercutting done by this river is of the order of 5500 metres. In India, it flows through Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, and is joined by several tributaries.
Every year during the rainy season, the river overflows its banks, causing wide spread devastation like floods in Assam and in Bangladesh. Unlike other north Indian rivers the Brahmaputra is marked by huge deposits of silt on its bed causing it to rise. The river also shifts its channel frequently.
3.3 The Narmada river system
The Narmada is a river in central India. It forms the traditional boundary between North India and South India, and is a total of 1,312 km (815 miles) long. Of the major rivers of peninsular India, only the Narmada, the Tapti and the Mahi run from east to west. Its total length through the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat amounts to 1,312 kilometres and it empties into the Arabian Sea in the Bharuch district of Gujarat.
It also forms the 'Dhuandhaar Falls' where the river plunges over steep rocks.
3.4 The Tapti river system (ancient name : Tapi)
The Tapti is one of the major rivers of peninsular India with the length of around 724 km. It rises in the eastern Satpura Range of southern Madhya Pradesh state, before emptying into the Gulf of Cambay of the Arabian Sea, in the State of Gujarat. TheWestern Ghats or Sahyadri range starts south of the Tapti River near the border of Gujarat and Maharashtra. The principal tributaries of Tapi River are Purna River, Girna River, Panzara River, Waghur River, Bori River and Aner River.
Disclaimer: The entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is undisputed Indian territory. All maps taken from internet.
3.5 The Godavari river system
The river with second longest course within India, Godavari is often referred to as the Vriddh (Old) Ganga or the Dakshin (South) Ganga. The river is about 1,450 km (900 mi) long. It rises at Trimbakeshwar, near Nasik and Mumbai in Maharashtra around 380 km distance from the Arabian Sea, and empties into the Bay of Bengal. At Rajahmundry, 80 km from the coast, the river splits into two streams (Vashistha which flows to Narsapur & Gautami which flows to other side Pasarlapudi) thus forming a very fertile delta. Like any other major river in India, the banks of this river also has many pilgrimage sites, Nasik, Triyambak and Bhadrachalam, being the major ones. It is a seasonal river, widened during the monsoons and dried during the summers. Godavari river water is brownish. Some of its tributaries include Indravati River, Pranahita (combination of Penuganga and Warda), Manjira, Bindusara and Sabari Kinnerasani. Some important urban centers on its banks include Nasik, Bhadrachalam, Rajahmundry and Narsapur. Asia's largest rail-come-road bridge on the river Godavari linking Kovvur and Rajahmundry is considered to be an engineering feat.
3.6 The Krishna river system
The Krishna is one of the longest rivers of India (about 1300 km in length). It originates at Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra and meets the sea in the Bay of Bengal at Hamsaladeevi in Andhra Pradesh. The Krishna River flows through the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The traditional source of the river is a spout from the mouth of a statue of a cow in the ancient temple of Mahadev in Mahabaleshwar. Its most important tributary is the Tungabhadra River, which itself is formed by the Tunga and Bhadra rivers that originate in the Western Ghats. Other tributaries include the Koyna, Bhima, Malaprabha, Ghataprabha, Yerla, Warna, Dindi, Musi and Dudhganga rivers. In the year 2009, the river Krishna saw the worst floods in 100 years.
3.7 The Kaveri river system
The Kaveri is one of the great rivers of India and is considered sacred by the Hindus. This river is also called Dakshin Ganga. The headwaters are in the Western Ghats range of Karnataka state, and from Karnataka through Tamil Nadu. It empties into the Bay of Bengal. The source of the river is Talakaveri (Kodagu District) located in the Western Ghats about 5,000 feet (1,500 m) above sea level. it has many tributaries including Shimsha, Hemavati River, Arkavathy, Kapila, Honnuhole, Lakshmana Tirtha, Kabini, Lokapavani, Bhavani, Noyyal and Famous Amaravati. The dam constructed for the river is KRS (Krishna Raja Sagara) by the Highness of Mysore through the well known engineer Bharata Ratna Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya. The dam is located in Mandya district and this river is serving as water of life for South Indians.
3.8 The Mahanadi river system
The Mahanadi River Delta in India is a basin of deposit that drains a large land mass of the Indian subcontinent into the Bay of Bengal. The alluvial valley is wide and relatively flat with a meandering river channel that changes its course. The Mahanadi River flows slowly for 560 miles (900 km) and has an estimated drainage area of 51,000 square miles (132,100 square km). It deposits more silt than almost any other river in the Indian subcontinent.
3.9 The Sabarmati system
It is the third important river system flowing into the Arabian Sea from the peninsular region of India. This river rises in the Aravallis in Rajasthan and flows into the Gulf of Cambay.
In addition to these, there are some small rivers flowing westwards from the Western Ghats. The important ones among these are the Mandovi, Zuari and Rachol in Goa, Kalinadi, Sharavathi, Tadri and Netravati in Karnataka, and Baypore, Ponnar, Periyar and Pamba in Kerala. Most of these rivers flow very rapidly and do not form any deltas. Instead some of them make waterfalls as they descend the steep western face of the Western Ghats. The famous Jog Falls is created by the Sharavathi River dropping 253 m (830 ft), making it the second-highest plunge waterfall in India after the Nohkalikai Falls in Meghalaya, with a drop of 335 m (1100 ft).
4.0 Differences Between the Himalayan and the Peninsular Rivers
The rivers of the Himalayan region differ from those of the peninsular region in a number of ways. Firstly, a number of the Himalayan rivers, e.g. Indus, Sutlej and Brahmaputra, are antecedent rivers, i.e. they are older than the landforms over which they flow. It is believed that these rivers existed before the emergence of the Himalayas.
As discussed, most of the Himalayan rivers are perennial. They have water throughout the year and these rivers receive water from rain as well as from melted snow from the high mountains.The two major Himalayan rivers are the Indus and the Brahmaputra originating from the north of the mountain ranges. They cut through the mountains making gorges.The Himalayan rivers have long courses from their source to the sea.They perform intensive erosional activity in their upper courses and carry huge loads of silt and sand. In the middle and the lower courses,these rivers form meanders,oxbow lakes,and many other depositional features in their floodplains. They also have well-developed deltas. A large number of the peninsular rivers are seasonal as their flow is dependent on rainfall. During the dry season,even the large rivers have reduced flow of water in their channels.
The peninsular rivers have shorter and shallower courses as compared to their Himalayan counterparts. Some of them originate in the central highlands and flow towards the west. Most of the peninsular rivers in India originate in the western ghats and flow towards the Bay of Bengal.
The Himalayan rivers flow over an area of youthful topography changing their course frequently, often making U-turns along inter-locking spurs. Due to their sources in the snowfields, these rivers are perennial. Their erosive capacity is also immense and they carry large amount of silt. In contrast, most of the rivers of the peninsular plateau are consequent streams (a few of the streams of peninsular region are considered antecedent also) and they follow the general slope of the plateau region. Their valleys are well developed and they do not change their course frequently. They are seasonal in character as they are rain fed. Due to a lesser amount of flow, the hydroelectricity generation potential of the peninsular rivers is much lower than that of the Himalayan rivers. However, a much higher proportion the total power generation potential of the rivers of the peninsular region has been developed.
5.0 Drainage of the Indian Desert Region
The greater part of Rajasthan and Gujarat is dry land, which forms a part of the Thar Desert. This is an area of internal drainage and the only river rising or flowing through this territory, which reaches the sea, is the Luni. This river rises in the Aravalli Ranges and enters the Arabian Sea through the Rannof Kutch. Luni is a highly seasonal stream and for most of the year it is dry. The drainage of most of the desert region flows into local depressions that generally are salt lakes. Lake Sambhar and Deedwana are examples of such depressions receiving the drainage of the surrounding areas.
6.0 INTERLINKING OF RIVERS IN INDIA
The idea of linking water surplus Himalayan rivers with water scarce parts of western and peninsular India has been doing the rounds for the past 150 years. However, the idea has now got detailed in the form of a mega-project for inter-linking of Himalayan and peninsular region. Never in the past has this idea generated as much discussion and debate as during the recent years after the Supreme Court of India enjoined the Government of India to implement the grandiose project by 2016, a timeframe deemed impossible by experts.
The Indian proposal for the mega project of inter-linking of rivers (ILR) has come at a time when large dams and canal infrastructure are facing an all-time low. Environmental groups are seriously questioning the ecological costs of large dams; and other NGOs are asking whether the human displacement and misery these cause, given India's poor track record of rehabilitation of the displaced populations, would permit these to pass an objective social cost-benefit test. To add to these, the performance of public irrigation projects has continuously been slipping. Finally, there is widespread questioning of the justification for such investment when agriculture is shrinking in water-scarce western and peninsular India and future food demand appear largely over-projected.
6.1 The Indian ILR project
The Project that the Supreme Court and the President have enjoined the government of India to implement may well be the largest infrastructure project ever undertaken in the world, to transfer water from the surplus river basins to ease the water shortages in western and southern India while mitigating the impacts of recurrent floods in the Eastern India (NWDA 2006). It will build 30 links and some 3000 storages to connect 37 Himalayan and Peninsular rivers to form a gigantic South Asian water grid. The canals, planned to be 50 to 100 meters wide and more than 6 meters deep, would facilitate navigation.
The estimates of key project variables - still in the nature of back-of-the-envelope calculations -suggest it will cost a staggering US $ 123 billion (or Indian Rs 5,60,000 crore at 2002 prices), handle 178 cubic km of inter-basin water transfer/per year, build 12,500 km of canals, create 35 giga watts of hydropower capacity, add 35 million hectare to India's irrigated areas, and generate an unknown volume of navigation and fishery benefits. Some 3700 MW would be required to lift water across major watershed ridges by up to 116 meters. Far from 2016, most observers agree that the Project may not be fully complete even by 2050. Verghese (2003), one of its few champions outside the government, suggests it should be viewed as a 50-100 year project.
What makes ILR unique is its unrivalled grandiosity. If and when completed, ILR will handle four times more water than the China's South to North water transfer project, itself one of Himalayan Component Peninsular Component the largest inter-basin water transfer projects implemented in the world (R. Stone & H. Jia 2006). ILR will handle four times more water than the three Gorges project; 5 times all interbasin water transfers completed in the U.S.A; and more than 6 times the total transfers of the 6 inter-basin water transfers project completed in India (Sharda-Sahayak, Beas-Sutlej, Madhopur-Beas link, Kurnool Cudappa cana, Periya Vegai Link, Telgu Ganga). ILR cost, as presently 'guesstimated' would be three times the cost of China's South-North water transfers scheme; 6 times the cost of three Gorges dam, and 20 times the estimated costs for the Red-Dead connection in the Middle East. ILR will mean larger investment than the sum total of all irrigation investments made by the government of colonial and free India since 1830. And this is based on numbers that are little more than a conservative guesstimate that likely excludes the cost of land acquisition. When the cost of land acquisition and rehabilitation and resettlement, besides endemic cost and the inevitable time overruns are factored in, the ILR will most likely cost several times more than the present US$ 123 billion estimate.
Only 9 of the 30 proposed links are independent, and can be executed without working on other links. In this first stage of the mammoth project, which won government approval last August, a 230-kilometer canal will be dug to divert water from the Ken River to the Betwa River in northern Madhya Pradesh province. A dam and small hydroelectric plant will be built in the Panna tiger reserve. Work on this $1.1 billion first component of the NRL project is under way and scheduled to be completed in 8 years (Bagla 2006).
6.2 The justification for ILR
The most important question being raised about ILR by critics is its justification. The raison d'etre of the project is the accentuating water scarcity in western and peninsular India. The low per capita availability of utilizable water, high spatial and temporal variability of rainfall and the associated drought and floods are other major factors. By 2050, the per capita water availability in India is expected to fall from the present 1820 m3 to 1140 m3, far less than the water scarcity thresholds of 1700 m3/person defined by Falkenmark et al (1994) as necessary for civilized living. Spatial inequality is extreme, too: the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna basins, which cover one-third of the total land area, are home to 44 percent of India's population, but drain more than 60 percent of the country's water resources. In contrast,the Krishna, Cauvery and, Penner river basins and the easterly flowing rivers between Penner and Kanyakumari cover 16 percent of the land area, have 17 percent of the population, but drain only 6 percent of India's water. In India's 19 major river basins, only 55 percent of total water resources are utilizable. As a result, more than 220 million people have per capita water supply below 1000 m3/ per year, indicating severe regional water scarcities emerge according to Falkenmark et al (1994).
Thanks to these unequal endowments, India's river basins are at different degrees of 'closure'. The Indus basin withdraws more than 1600 m3 per person/year; the Brahmaputra basin withdraws only 290 m3. The Indus, Penner, Tapi, Sabarmati, the westerly flowing rivers in the Kutch and Saurashtra and Rajasthan (Luni) and the easterly flowing rivers between Pennar and Kanyakumari suffer over-development and are physically water scarce (IWMI 2000). Their needs can be addressed, it is argued, by augmenting their natural flows with surplus waters of the Himalayan rivers.
Taking away some surplus flood waters from Himalayan rivers and dispatching them to drought-prone areas, it is argued, can only be a win-win proposition. Annual floods, on the average, affect more than 7 million ha, 3 million ha cropped area and 34 million people, mostly in the eastern parts, inflicting annual damage of well over US$ 220 million (Rs 1000 crores) (GOI 1998). In contrast, recurrent droughts affect 19 percent of the country, 68 percent of the cropped area and 12 percent of the population. The reservoir storages and the canal diversions in ILR are expected to reduce flood damages by 35 percent and ease drought-proneness in semi-arid and arid parts, besides making 12 km3 water available for domestic and industrial water supplies in these drought prone districts.
6.3 Criticisms of the ILR
Inter-River Linking Project involves multifaceted issues and challenges related to economic, ecological, and social costs. On this note, Iyer (2003) very sharply states that "We have had great difficulty in completing even a single project successfully and we want to embark on thirty massive projects at the same time." The IRL project has caused much anger and protest in our neighbouring nation, Bangladesh. It is grappled with fear that diversion of water from the Brahmaputra and the Ganges, which provide 85% of the country's fresh water flow in the dry season, would result into an ecological disaster. The rehabilitation of project-affected people in water infrastructure projects will also pose a burning question before the concerned authorities. The construction of reservoirs and river linking canals in the peninsular component alone expect to displace more than 583,000 people and submerge large areas of forest, agriculture and non-agriculture land. Transfer of water is bound to be unacceptable as no state is likely to transfer water to another foregoing possible future use of such water. Domestic and regional geo-politics play a pivotal role on the discussions on ILR. As of now, there is no mechanism as of now to deal with matters concerning interbasin transfers. There are also important institutional and legal issues to be sorted out. As per the latest information disclosed in the Indian Parliament, Union Minster of Parliamentary Affairs and Water Resources informed the house that NWDA has spent Rs 350.5 crores on various Inter-River Linking Project (IRL) studies up to February 2012 and Water Resource Ministry had not received certified copy of guidelines, as issued by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India.
Some of the ILR (inter-linking of rivers) schemes have international implications, with a possible impact on countries like Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh. Each of the 30 schemes of the ILR is supposed to get through several statutory, legal and procedural steps. None of the schemes have gone through any of it. The Union ministry of environment and forests has already said no to the project. No state is ready to give water to another state. In India's constitution, water is essentially a state subject. Several states including Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Sikkim have already opposed ILR projects. There will be several environmental impacts of ILR including submergence of land and forests, destruction of rivers, aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity, downstream impacts, destruction of fisheries, salinity ingress, pollution concentration, destruction of groundwater recharge and increased methane emission from reservoirs, among others. Unfortunately there is no comprehensive assessment of all such possible impacts for a single link in any credible way.
6.3.1 Environmental concerns
The Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, on 23rd of May 2003, had shown a very serious concern about the environmental issues related to the proposed interlinking project. Bandyopadhyay (2003) asked the question "How are the environmental damages that may be caused by the interlinking project identified and their financial costs estimated, if at all?"
Martin (2003) clearly warned that linking rivers like straight pipelines without looking at the ecological impact may be very harmful for our environment. Scientists are also doubtful that river diversion may bring significant changes in the physical and chemical compositions of the sediment load, river morphology and the shape of the delta formed at the river basin. Water related diseases, such as Malaria, and Filariasis can spread through stagnant or slow moving water in the irrigation command area. The ecologically un-informed economic development activities, like widespread waterlogging and the resulting desertification in the catchment areas of many large irrigation projects, can also be cited. Roy (1999) states that, "In India, fifty million people are estimated to have been displaced in the last five decades by the construction of dams, power plants, highways and such other infrastructure development projects. Subsequently no more than one-fourth of them could be assisted to regain their livelihoods". Wolfensohn (1995) remarked that 'Such social injustice can destroy economic and political advances. With the link broken, the ecological balance of land and oceans, freshwater and sea water, is also disrupted (Shiva 2003). A section of scientists argue that large dams and reservoirs also cause earthquakes. The controversies over koina dam, Tehri dam are few such examples. In view of a spate of earthquakes being experienced, the presence of large number of reservoirs will prove to be disastrous in case of any such eventuality. Inter-linking a toxic river with a non-toxic one will have a devastating impact on all our rivers and, consequently, on all human beings and wild life.
Shiva (2003) considers ILR to be an act of violence against nature: "Violence is not intrinsic to the use of river waters for human needs. It is a particular characteristic of gigantic river valley projects that work against, and not with, the logic of the river. These projects are based on reductionist assumptions, which relate water use not to nature's processes but to the processes of revenue and profit generation… Rivers, instead of being seen as sources of life, become sources of cash. In Worster's words, the river ends up becoming an assembly line, rolling increasingly toward the goal of unlimited production. The irrigated factory drinks the region dry." Iyer (2003) is acerbic in his comments on IRL projects: "Are rivers bundles of pipelines to be cut, turned around, welded and re-joined? This is technological hubris - arrogance - of the worst description, prometheanism of the crassest kind. The country needs to be saved from this madness."
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