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Besides India, the book also has case studies on water
conservation from Africa, Mauritius, Portugal and South-East
Asian countries. In the paper, Dams and Development in India,
NMP Verma, the author of the paper, says the total storage
capacity of all dams combined in India works out to be 174 cu km
almost equivalent to the Aswan High Dam of Egypt but lower than
the capacity of the Kariba Dam in Zambia/Zimbabwe. Verma also
points out that there is regional mismatch in the distribution
of major dams in the Indian state. He concludes that smaller
dams may be promoted because of their advantages and bigger dams
should be planned with great care.
Though a paper by
Raj Kumar Sen, Big Dam Controversy in India and the Policy
for the 21st Century, is technically heavy, the notes at the
end of the paper make an interesting reading. For example, the
Bagri Dam irrigates only as much as it submerged. It irrigates
only 5 per cent of the area that its planners had claimed. Also
that the number of persons displaced by large dams in India
range from 21 million to 40 million. Maybe more.
Indira Khurana in
her paper, Water Scarcity? Try Capturing the Rain, opines
that it is possible to banish drought completely in 10 years if
the government puts its mind to it. Indira says rainwater
harvesting and monsoon run-off can irrigate villages all year
round and quotes success stories from Sukhomajri, Ralegan Siddhi
and villages in Alwar.
James S. Gardner
and R.B. Singh have discussed the management of water-related
disasters in context of the Himalayas and have added their
research findings on ecological degradation in Kulu district.
Under the sub-head, Institutional and Management Aspects,
J.S. Samra assess the participatory process of watershed
management in India quoting examples from the Doon valley and
villages like Bhagwasi in North to Kokriguda in Orissa.
The book also
delves on water conflict, and in the case study of the
Subernarekha river basin, Ramesh Bhatia points out that the
tariffs in irrigation, urban and industrial sectors are far
below the full cost and the value of water is lower than the
cost of supply.
All 37 papers
compiled in the form of book are thought provoking to sum up.
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ONLY
those with parched throat or who have faced the pangs of drought can
understand the value of water in true sense of terms. No one spares
a thought for this priceless commodity where it flows abundantly.
Two out of every three persons in the world will be facing water
shortages by 2025, says a new report by the Christian relief and
development agency, Tearfund. Still, we as a nation are not taking
the water crisis warning seriously.
