Interlinking of Rivers

This presentation deals with performance of India’s water sector and the challenges therein. The sector is marked by large-scale water development projects like big dams. There has been an absence of a credible assessment of performance of large dams while new ways are being attempted to push big projects such as interlinking of rivers, food security, flood control, Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Project, National Projects, advocacy to increase storage capacities, clean (hydro) energy and climate change.

The presentation discusses the strong push for large hydropower projects these days, while they continue to give diminishing returns. The sector is marked by unviable projects, over development, optimistic assumptions, siltation, inadequate repair and maintenance, Run of the River projects, etc.

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This paper looks at various ancient Indian texts to highlight irrigation techniques used at that time.

There is mention of the importance of water in daily life in various prayers in the Rigveda. The author states that the earliest evidence of water conservation goes back to 3000 B. C. when Gabarbands were built in Baluchisthan. The Harappans built tanks and wells and were pioneers of well-digging technology.Read More

This document by Jayanta Bandyopadhyay, highlights the importance of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) basin as an important source of water for many of the countries in South Asia, and the crucial role of negotiations in the context of the impending water crisis threatening the basin with the phenomenon of climate change.Read More

The document argues that traditional water engineering has been found to be highly reductionistic and ineffective in bringing about development in the GBM basin and the continuing poverty in the GBM basin can be linked to the absence of a holistic ecological perspective, use of an incomplete framework for economics and ignoring of long-run economic costs of the actions proposed.

This status report on water resources in Tikamgarh and Jhansi districts by Development Alternatives is an effort to conduct a rapid assessment of   the current status of water and waste water management and the potential for introducing  integrated approaches with  an aim to provide “water for all, always’.Read More