Review of Sudita Sen GANGA Water Alternatives (original) (raw)
Ganga, the national river of India, is now sadly depleted in flow and utterly polluted due to construction of dams and barrages, discharge of untreated municipal and industrial wastes, floral offerings, cremation of dead bodies on its bank. Kanpur to Trighat is identified as the most polluted section of the river. This critical state of the river has been revealed in the paper based on an analysis of the published accounts and research results by various institutes and individuals. It also sheds light on the strategies and action plans to rejuvenate the Ganga to its pristine quality.
This paper is an attempt to provide a brief account of the River Ganga Repository, an initiative of Maulana Azad Central Library, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Aligarh in order to collect and disseminate knowledge on and about the river Ganga in printed and digital form. The repository has been set up with the aim to collect, organize and make accessible to the world, the literature and other information pertaining to the river Ganga which may be utilized in cleaning and rejuvenating the holy river. The paper discusses the design and development of River Ganga Repository with Portal as a project which was inaugurated on 17th May 2016 at Maulana Azad Central Library, AMU, Aligarh. The portal is a one-stop source of information on the river Ganga which provides database of both subscribed as well as open access resources ranging from printed to digital, including books, theses and dissertations, research articles, project reports, maps, etc. Apart from this, it also provides links to news related to river Ganga and other useful links (government and other organizational websites related to the river Ganga). The data for the repository was collected through search engines, publisher websites and government and other organizational websites. This portal provides links to printed resources such as books and theses & dissertations in the form of bibliographical details and full text; however it also provides links to the subscribed and open access resources available on Internet either in the form of bibliographical details of the resource or in the form of abstract or full text. In this paper, an attempt has also been made to highlight various sections of the portal with apt screenshots. The paper may prove to be very useful for those either working on or looking for literature on or about river Ganga.
Rivers have just lost a great voice of theirs: My times and trysts with India's Water Wisdom
It's an article in memory of, and as a tribute to, India's veteran water expert Prof. Ramaswamy R. Iyer who took his heavenly abode on September 9 this year (2015). The article narrates, in a memoir style, Iyer Sir's strong stands on Rivers as to how he always considered them as ecological entities and warned against any plans to treat them as pipelines in the name of development.
Management of Water at Śṛṅgaverapura: An Early Historic Hydraulic System on the Ganga
Journal of Historical Studies and Research, 2025
This paper explores the advanced hydraulic engineering and water management system at Śṛṅgaverapura, an early historic Ganga site near Prayagraj. An analysis of structural evidence, stratigraphy, and comparative studies examines the construction, function, and evolution of its multistage water tank system, which provided flood control, water filtration, and urban sustainability. The study contextualises Śṛṅgaverapura within broader early historic urban planning, comparing its water conservation strategies with those of Dholavira and Sanchi. Furthermore, it highlights the cultural and religious significance of water in ancient India, referencing the Ramayana, Arthashastra, and Dharmashastra.
River Systems and River Science in India: Major Drivers and Challenges
Society of Earth Scientists Series, 2012
Rivers, particularly large river systems, constitute one of the most fundamental lifesupport systems that have sustained civilisations; and are projected to be a critical determinant for the future sustenance of human civilisations. In a world that is expected to witness a near doubling of the human population by the middle of the century, and a world that is likely to be impacted by an unprecedented rate of global change, one of the main sustainability agendas will be the construction of dynamic strategies for the management of natural freshwater systems.
Restoration And Preservation of Traditional Water Resources: A Study of Uttarakhand
West science social and humanities studies , 2023
The essence of all life is water. Without water, nothing on our planet can grow. Traditional water resources, which were once the lifeblood of the Himalayan population, are disappearing alarmingly in Himalayan areas of Uttarakhand. In these steep regions of Uttarakhand, life cannot advance in the correct path without these natural water sources. Traditional water resources provided for many kinds of daily requirements, including drinking, cooking, cleaning, irrigation, and caring for animals. Water is becoming more scarce everywhere in the world, even in the Himalayan region. In an effort to prevent future generations from facing a shortage of potable water, efforts should be made to protect these ancient natural water sources.
The pressure on freshwater resources is leading to diminishing flows in some of the critical river systems across the globe and India is no exception and this is mainly because of water withdrawal for irrigation, which is often to the tune of 70% to 80% with some proportion for domestic and industrial use. While graduating from the concept of environmental flows and its assessment methodologies in India, the water-managers, the researchers and the conservationists are now moving towards answering the next question if the rivers are to be revived, then where will the water come from, especially in the case of over-allocated rivers, including the river Ganga. While the logical way is to look at the biggest user of water, i.e. irrigation, it remains to be seen whether the irrigation water savings will actually lead to enhancing flows in a river, complementing the efforts towards maintaining e-flows in rivers, or whether it will lead to more area under agriculture, bring changes in crop...
2009
Their guidance at various stages of the project was immensely helpful. We also acknowledge the assistance of various government institutions for providing the necessary data and published documents for this project. A special thank goes to the Central Water Commission of India for providing the flow data of various river basins in India. Many of the studies would not have been able to to be completed to our satisfaction without the river flow information. The project team would also like to thank Shri Anil D. Mohile, former Chairman of the Central Water Commission, for his constant help and suggestions in this process. We thank the participants from various government institutions, NGOs and civil society for their useful suggestions at the inception workshop of Phase I, held in April 2005 at New Delhi. The studies were greatly benefited by the comments and suggestions received from our peers in the CPWF and IWMI theme leaders, and the participants of various workshops wherein we presented our draft research reports. We also thank the organizers of various workshops for providing us the opportunity to present the findings of these studies. These include the IWMI-TATA Water Policy meetings in March 2006, the Project workshop in April 2006 at Delhi, and many other national forums. We thank the researchers in India and in IWMI for their contribution, and the Director General of IWMI and other staff for their support and guidance for research and management of the project. Also we thank many other Indian researchers who expressed their willingness to contribute to research in various stages of the project. In that, we believe, they indicated their appreciation of research conducted by IWMI and their liking to be part of it. Finally we thank Mr. Pantaleon Fernando for editing the manuscripts and Ms. Pavithra Amunugama, Mr. Nimal Attanayake and Ms. Mala Ranawake for their assistance in the production process. vii Preface In 2005, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) started a three-year research study on "Strategic Analysis of India's River Linking Project". The primary focus of the IWMI-CPWF project is to provide the public and the policy planners with a balanced analysis of the social benefits and costs of the National River Linking Project (NRLP). The project consists of research in three phases. Phase I analyzed India's water future scenarios to 2025/2050 and related issues. Phase II, analyses how effective a response NRLP is, for meeting India's water future and its social costs and benefits. Phase III contributes to an alternative water sector perspective plan for India as a fallback strategy for NRLP. This book presents the findings of research in Phase I. In 1999, the National Commission of Integrated Water Resources Development (NCIWRD) published projections of India's water supply and demand to 2025/2050. The trends of key drivers before 1990's were the basis for this projection. However, with economic liberalization, the trends of these key drivers changed in the 1990's. Therefore, the major focus of research in phase I was to assess the trends and turning points of the key drivers in recent years and assess their implications on future water supply and demand. This volume, the first in a series of publications, presents the results of various research activities conducted in Phase I on India's Water Futures. Many papers in this book were presented in various regional and national workshops between 2006 and 2007. And, different versions are submitted for publication in various journals.