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| Articles |
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| Human
Values in Water Education - United Nations Human Settlements Programme |
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| Asian
Water Supplies Reaching the Urban Poor Written by Arthur C. McIntosh |
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| How Delhi makes the sprightly
Yamuna a 'dead river' - A TERI REPORT |
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The Yamuna catchment area of the National Capital
Territory is one per cent of the river's total catchment area but it generates
more than 50% of the pollutants found in the Yamuna. The crucial stretch
is a mere 22-km-long portion of its 1200 kilometre journey. Waste water
with little or no oxygen flows through this stretch. TERI studies say that
more than 70% of the 84 districts that make up the Delhi sub-basin, are
water-stressed due to depletion and degradation of quality of ground and
surface water resources. Delhi receives relatively clean water and converts
it into a deadly concoction of disease-bearing water for the people who
live downstream.
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| Eighty per cent of the districts
suffer because of that 22-km stretch where effluents pour into the river.
Yamuna before the Wazirabad stretch has appreciable levels of dissolved
oxygen, low biochemical oxygen demand levels and the water is extensively
used for irrigation purposes. Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and parts of Uttar
Pradesh use 6000 million metres cubic water every year for irrigation. The
scene changes dramatically once the waters reach Delhi. None of the cities
downstream generate more than 1000 MLD (million litres per day) of waste
water. In contrast, Delhi alone generates 3000 MLD of waste water. |
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Bacteriological count - an indicator of the presence of pathogens - is under
permissible level upto Delhi. The Delhi region makes this count dangerously
high. This means that Delhi could be responsible for all water-borne diseases
caused by use of Yamuna waters beyond Delhi.
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Delhi is also responsible for the low income
group and incidentally the high risk group which resides on the river banks.
Though Delhi collectively contributes to the pollution of the river, more
than 750 000 colonies along the 22 km stretch bear maximum brunt of the
river's waters.
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Significantly, even as Delhi generates more
than 3000 MLD of waste water, generally most of its sewage treatment plants
function erratically. This simply means that this waste water enters the
Yamuna without undergoing purification! Poor designing and frequent power
cuts are mainly responsible for this state of affairs.
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Large quantities of complex organic pollutants
are broken down by aquatic microorganisms who consume dissolved oxygen for
this purpose from the waters. This results in depletion of oxygen and hence
acute deficiency of oxygen for other riverine organisms such as fish. Plainly
speaking, no oxygen means very less life is possible in these waters and
the Yamuna becomes a dead river.
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| TERI conclusions based
on a comprehensive case study on Yamuna |
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Out of 80 districts that make up the basin,
29 (including Delhi) were in the category of high and medium water stress
in 1947; in the 1990s, the number went up to 62. The number of highly stressed
districts went up from 1 in 1947 to 20 in the 1990s.
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| The present irrigation water requirement
in the Yamuna basin is 68.18 billion cubic metres whereas the total available
surface water in the basin with 75% dependable flows is 62.8 billion cubic
metres. And this shortfall will increase in the future. The total utilizable
groundwater in the basin is nearly 60 billion cubic metres, 85% of which
is allocated for irrigation. With the increasing demands for water, acute
shortage of water, including irrigation water, seems inevitable. |
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The entire stretch of the river from Delhi up to the Chambal confluence
is highly polluted. The larger towns/cities in this stretch are Delhi, Mathura,
Agra, and Etawah. The pollution is mainly because, most of the waste water
of these towns is discharged into the river without treatment and, the flow
in the river at theseplaces is too meagre to dilute the pollutant load so
as to bring it down to permissible levels. Rising pressures on groundwater
due to non-availability of good surface water will worsen the situation.
The trends discussed above and the increasing dependence on groundwater
for irrigation since 1947 indicate the rising pressures in the basin. The
districts are stressed either because of a large fall in the levels of water
tables (e.g., Agra) or because of a large rise (e.g., Jind).
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Upstream of Delhi and downstream of the Chambal
confluence, the problem of pollution is less severe. At Allahabad, however,
the water quality is poor during the non-monsoon period due to untreated
wastes discharged into the river from the city.
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Pollution load on water resources is increasing
due to the increase in population, industrial activities, and extensive
use of pesticides and other chemicals for cultivation. Incidence of water-
and sanitation-related diseases continues to be high and awareness of the
importance of environmental sanitation is rather poor.
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The river-cleaning programmes, which laid emphasis
on such capital work as setting up sewage treatment plants, development
of bathing ghats, etc. failed to yield the desired results due to the lack
of holistic technical inputs and community involvement. The number of cases
of the violation of standards, under the Water Act, is also increasing.
Most of the defaulting units are sugar mills, distilleries, and leather-processing
units. In addition, the contribution from small-scale industries to the
total pollution load is growing at an increasing rate.
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| So far, the approach to dealing with issues
related to water pollution has been ad hoc and sectoral. In a country like
India, which faces severe resource constraints, a community-based approach
appears to be the only viable option for improving water quality and better
environmental management. |
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| Traditional Water Harvesting
Technique |
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Kata system, a community-based traditional
water harvesting technique used by the local communities in the Sambalpur
tract of Orissa has proved to be a strong shield against drought. This simple
indigenous practice was rediscovered by five students of Delhi Public School
(DPS), Rourkela, while they prepared a case study in Bargarh district of
Orissa.
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The kata system is an ordinary tank,
constructed by making a strong, slightly curved earthen embankment, at both
ends of the drainage line. (see sketch: A profile view of kata system)
The Gond rulers, who ruled the region till 1947, had evolved an effective
social and administrative system to sustain these systems for agricultural
purposes. They provided revenue free land to the village headmen for the
construction of kata's. As a result, even during the severe bouts
of famines in 1890 - 1900, the cultivators of Sambhalpur remained unscathed.
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The DPS team studied the 'Rani sagar' kata
of Bijepur village of Bargarh district. It is one of the region's existing
and functioning kata, covering an area of about 150 acres. It irrigates
1,784 acres of land during kharif and about 204 acres during rabi crops.
Villagers proudly informed the students that irrespective of irregular rainfall,
water level in wells has never receded beyond 15 feet. Only in 1999 and
2000 it reached 18 feet due to a prolonged dry spell. The people are not
only able to grow crops regularly, but have never faced scarcity of drinking
water, unlike other villages in the same region, where the water is provided
by the Hirakund dam.
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In 2001, Rani sagar was cleaned of the weeds
and now it is completely functional. The villagers are not in favour of
removing all the weeds as it may kill the fish. They are also successfully
growing groundnuts on the edges of the kata. The villagers are using
the protected bandhas for drinking purposes. Villagers stressed that if
any attempt is made to interfere with the system, "There will be nothing
left of the tradition. Let the kata be as it is." |
| Source: Anindya Aparajita et al
2001, Kata system: A practical traditional approach to fight drought,
Delhi Public School, Rourkela. |
