I am back after a long time with some thoughts that have been churning in my mind since some time. In my spare time, I like to ponder on various topics close to my heart. I like to think of ways to help conserve nature, to think about effects of deforestation, etc. I've not been able to participate in any activity related to this, something that I'd like to change about myself in upcoming years; but I've been passionate about topics like Nature Conservation, Tree Plantation, climate effects, maintaining ecological balance, etc. One of my previous posts too contained some of my thoughts (like water conservation) related to this topic. You can find it here if you are interested: https://orthoboxed-thoughts-sumsmystic.blogspot.com/2016/03/movies-and-real-life-future-part-1.html
First I'd like to start with some thoughts that I've had about water scarcity: We know that the South African city of Cape Town was on the verge of 0 water availability in the past few years. See the news article from 'The Guardian' here . Other cities are not far behind; another article here.
The seeds for these thoughts were sown when I got to know about the 'Rally for Rivers' project. I am not yet part of this project but I think this was such a novel program and information presented there literally touched my heart. But still we might not be able to implement the plans like new tree plantations along the river beds because of land being already now in use or any other myriad number of reasons.
Another point to consider is that although we get ample rainfall during the Monsoons but a lot of that water goes into the sea and turns saline and as of now, we don't have technology to purify that water for drinking purpose in a cost-effective way. We have constructed dams across the rivers to help provide drinking water to the masses in various cities and villages. But considering the rate of population growth, I don't really believe the current model of building dams across existing rivers will be sustainable. Then again, just imagine that due to the 'El-Nino' kind of effects or any other reason, just in case, there is just around 50-60% rainfall for 1 year or for theoretical purpose, if we try to imagine a case where there is no rainfall at all for just 1 year. Our dams almost dry up within 1 year and if there is no rainfall in the succeeding year, it'll be a huge calamity. We pray this situation never happens but are we taking enough steps to help our climate remain stable? Food for thought.
Considering above points and taking inspiration from the 'Rally for Rivers' project, I'd like to suggest that the Govt implement another new project on parallel lines: Creating new rivers!
First I'd like to start with some thoughts that I've had about water scarcity: We know that the South African city of Cape Town was on the verge of 0 water availability in the past few years. See the news article from 'The Guardian' here . Other cities are not far behind; another article here.
The seeds for these thoughts were sown when I got to know about the 'Rally for Rivers' project. I am not yet part of this project but I think this was such a novel program and information presented there literally touched my heart. But still we might not be able to implement the plans like new tree plantations along the river beds because of land being already now in use or any other myriad number of reasons.
Another point to consider is that although we get ample rainfall during the Monsoons but a lot of that water goes into the sea and turns saline and as of now, we don't have technology to purify that water for drinking purpose in a cost-effective way. We have constructed dams across the rivers to help provide drinking water to the masses in various cities and villages. But considering the rate of population growth, I don't really believe the current model of building dams across existing rivers will be sustainable. Then again, just imagine that due to the 'El-Nino' kind of effects or any other reason, just in case, there is just around 50-60% rainfall for 1 year or for theoretical purpose, if we try to imagine a case where there is no rainfall at all for just 1 year. Our dams almost dry up within 1 year and if there is no rainfall in the succeeding year, it'll be a huge calamity. We pray this situation never happens but are we taking enough steps to help our climate remain stable? Food for thought.
Considering above points and taking inspiration from the 'Rally for Rivers' project, I'd like to suggest that the Govt implement another new project on parallel lines: Creating new rivers!
- India is blessed with mountain ranges across the length and breadth of the entire landmass.
- We need to artificially create canal-like channels starting from all our mountain ranges.
- E.g., we can have the stone quarry companies to dig out stones from mountains in a specific manner that'd create channels for rainwater to flow in a specific direction
- Then dig out canal-like channels along certain planned paths where enough land is available for use and direct this 'new river water' towards the seas along the slopes of the Deccan plateau or even along the Gangetic plains.
- Since this will be like laying the foundation for new rivers, we'll be able to plan in advance.
- It'll help provide employment to the unskilled / unorganized sector.
- It'll help increase the green cover / vegetation in India providing better livelihood.
- We can enact plans like having at least 500m of land all along the new 'artificially' created rivers to have tree cover. Beyond that, farmers will get preference to the land so that they have good water supply close by and also the farms would help support the river eco-system - just like suggested in 'Rally for Rivers'.
- New rivers will provide opportunity to create new dams, enabling us the ability to make provisions to provide drinking for future generations too.
Some more thoughts related to electricity consumption and sustainable living in forthcoming parts. Stay tuned. If you have any thoughts / reviews / comments to share, please feel free.
