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[Drought] What can be the most viable solution in India?

1. Desalination along the coastline.
2. River Linking Projects.
3. Better Conservation - Rain water Harvesting, More reservoirs and dams.
4. Any other solution.

Kindly share your critical analysis. :)
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Comments

  • 1) changes in our agricultural pattern by shifting away from water guzzlers like paddy and sugarcane to coarse cereals,
    Which are in fact even more nutritious.
    For this our flawed msp policy will have to change.
    2) introducing concept of water budgeting so as to ensure equitable distribution of water across different sectors of the economy. Free irrigation water must be stopped.
    3) construction of water conservation structures under MGNREGS
    4) introduction of water metering.
  • First of all we all must become responsible and rise above politics on such serious issues. We will have to think in a broader way.
    1. Change the pattern of cropping. What is the need of growing high water demanding crops in water deficit areas.
    2. Free electricity for irrigation must be stopped.
    3. Water harvesting, ground water recharging
    4. Wise use of water. There is no need of washing bike, car, floors, roads daily.
    We must be habitual of saving water before searching alternate sources.
    I agree with @harry90 @Captain_Peroxide
  • edited April 2016
    thank you @Captain_Peroxide @harry90 @roshu :)

    I second all of your opinions. Especially about the cropping pattern. It can save a lot of water.

    Below are what i think can be viable.

    1. rain water harvesting to be taken up on a massive scale for both immediate use and ground water recharge.
    2. Mini indigenous low cost desalinization plants should be setup along the coast so that water in limited quantity can be easily sent to the nearby villages in times of emergency.
    3. Strategic linking of flood prone and drought prone river beds in close proximity.
  • edited April 2016
    Wanted to add this:
    Desalination is not that costly now..
    We need to import this technology yesterday.. :)

    https://www.technologyreview.com/s/534996/megascale-desalination/
    the impact on marine ecosystem has to be carefully studied.
    however doc, is there a possibility of change in climate due to large scale desalinization?
    If the water becomes more saline, the boiling point increases, and thus we may witness loss in the amount of rainfall.
  • http://www.epw.in/journal/2016/15/commentary/new-institutional-structure-water-security-india.html

    Very good article on institutional mechanisms for water security.
    thanks :)
  • The measures can be divided into

    1. SHORT TERM MEASURES: These measures will have a quick impact to improve farmer's situation.

    - Change in cropping pattern towards less water intensive crops.
    - farmers education. Most farmers don't have knowledge on proper timing and amount of irrigation required. This will reduce wastage.
    - Rain water harvesting measures at local levels probably at panchayat level
    - Availability to better drought resistant seeds wherever possible

    2. LONG TERM MEASURES : They will require a good amount of time and investment to have any effect.

    - Frequency of droughts is not going to lessen in future and neither is demand of food. On the other hand water availability will drop down. So there needs to be a need to increase per drop food production by researching new technologies eg. High quality seeds( more production, drought resistant ), aerobic cultivation for paddy etc.
    - Better on field irrigation infrastructure like drip irrigation. This will need government support as most farmers in india are small and medium farmers.
    - Change in the way agricultural is done in India. This is most crucial. Agricultural productivity in India is very low. Average land holding not anywhere near global standards. For most farmers, agriculture is providing just enough to provide them with two square meal. If productivity drops ( like due to droughts ), they suffer miserably. SOLUTION-Commercialise farming. BENEFITS- increase in productivity and efficiency, reduction in wastage, more resources available to invest in modern technology, will cope better if hit with droughts etc. But for this current population engaged in agriculture needs to be shifted to manufacturing or service sector.

    SOLUTIONS WHICH ARE NOT VIABLE ( due to practicality, indian situation etc.)

    - Interlinking rivers : Ecological impacts and huge cost
    - crop insurance: even in a country like US, govt pay 60% premium. India cannot afford this. Moreover insurance for crop is just not feasible due to high corelation in crop failure. Also in India, crop failure rate is 1 in 4-5 years. Very high for insurance coverage.
    - Desalination: Someone wrote here rs.42 for 1000 litres for desalined water. I guess he didn't know how much it would require to produce 1 kg of rice or wheat- about 1000 to 3000 litres.
    Source : http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2013/jan/10/how-much-water-food-production-waste
    So, clearly not feasible for crops with market price of rs.10 a kg. Btw, desalination is good to meet potable water needs in coastal cities but not for irrigation.
  • ●Apart from above mentioned,go for artificial rains,switch from cotton and sugarcane to coarse grains.
    reduce,reuse n recycle the water use in water intensive industries.
    ●vertical garden n hydrophonics.
    ●use sprillina powder in pizza flavor ;) as chief source of protein.
  • This is an artificial drought created for profit making. The solutions provided here tackle the symptoms and not the causes. Read Sainath for a comprehensive understanding of India's "water crisis".
  • Some realistic measures
    1. Strict population control- as considering resources such as water,food India already crossed its supporting capacity.

    2. available water should be strictly regulated like nuclear material. Nothing is more precious than water. And not done today we have to do it tomorrow.
    Wells,agriculture crops of region,industrial use,reuse, recyle all should become a well regulated industry. Such as strict ban on farming sugarcane in water stress marathwada region.

    3. Rain water harvesting should be made compulsory.

    4. Unlimited tree plantation.

    5. Ground water should be saved for crisis use only.(acc to m s swaminathan) and must not be indiscriminately misused. Emphasis should be more on using surface water as long as possible by storing rainwater.

    6 it's not that we have sufficient rainfall, the problem is about management of water.


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