Telangana SCERT Class 10 Social Science Chapter 5 Solution – Indian Rivers and Water Resources. Here in this post we have provided Class 10 Social Science Indian Rivers and Water Resources Telangana State Board Solution. Telangana State Board English Class X Medium Students can download this Solution to Solve out Improve Your Learning Questions and Answers.
Telangana State Board Class 10 Social Science Chapter 5 Indian Rivers and Water Resources Solution:
1.) Draw a table to describe the major river systems in India with the following items:direction of flow, countries or regions through which they pass and relief featuresof the areas.
Ans:
Rivers | Direction of flow | Country or regions through which they pass | Relief features of the areas |
Indus | North-west | India, Pakistan, Tibet | Kailash Range |
Ganga | East | India, Bangladesh | Gangotri glacier, Satopanth glacier |
Brahmaputra | East | India, Bangladesh, Tibet | Chemayungdung glacier of the Kailas range near Manasarovar |
Godavari | East | Maharashtra | Triambak near Nasik |
2.) Identify and list arguments that would support or oppose the use of groundwater invarious contexts such as agriculture, industry etc.
Ans: Some amount of water would flow out of the village as surface flows through streams. During monsoon months, this surface flow would increase substantially. A portion of the rainfall percolates into the soil and travels to the underground strata and re-charges the aquifers. Some of it flows into and becomes available for use through wells and bore wells and a portion of it goes into very deep aquifers that do not become available. Some of the underground water becomes part of flows that eventually appear in streams or rivers.
Water is required for manufacturing processes and this demand often competes with domestic and agricultural uses. This needs to be taken into account as this conflict is on the increase.
A village may have tanks, ponds, lakes, as surface storages. Most villages in India draw water from wells and tube wells. They are dependent on ground water storage. These inflows and storage are connected. While some of the water flowing in is used directly, one part of this is recharging or replenishing the storage. Similarly, the use of tube wells draws water from storages and lowers the water available in them. Depending on comparative rates of inflow and outflow, we can judge what is happening to the stock of water over many years.
3.) Make a list of challenges faced in the water resources in the Tungabhadra basin.Identify the solutions that have been discussed in the context of these problemseither in this chapter or elsewhere in different classes.
Ans: Encroachment of public lands for cultivation is common. It results in more land being brought under cultivation at the expense of tree cover. Rampant felling of trees and mining activity result in forest degradation along with the destruction of the habitat of highly threatened flora and fauna. Inflows of groundwater depend on the tree cover in the catchment areas. Inadequate tree cover leads to water run-off at surface flow without getting a chance to recharge the underground system. Moreover, this also causes flash floods. If we wish to be fair to both the rain-fed and canal irrigated regions, we must adopt a different plan for water conservation and a system of sharing water. Tungabhadra dam has gradually lost its water storage capacity over the decades. About 50 years ago, the capacity of the reservoir was 3,766 million cubic meters, now with accumulation of silt due to mining, dust, soil erosion and debris, the reservoir has lost its storage capacity by as much as 849 million cubic meters of water.
Increased industrialisation and growth of urban areas have improved standards of living for some, the same activities have caused pollution especially by industrial units. There are 27 functioning large units and 2543 small units in this river basin. They consume a large amount of water per day. Industries were permitted to discharge effluents into the river but following public protests in 1984 regarding discharge of molasses that killed fish on a large scale, laws were enacted requiring industry to discharge only treated effluents. These laws are not implemented forcefully. Hence, severe pollution of the river system continues.
4.) Which aspects of farming practices were regulated in the context of Hiware Bazarto improve the water conservation?
Ans: Hiware Bazar was selected under the Adarsh Gram Yojana of Maharashtra government for watershed and all-round development of the village. Hiware Bazar is located in Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra. It is situated on the eastern (rainshadow) side of the Sahayadri mountain ranges that run north-south and separate Konkan, the coastal region, from the rest of Maharashtra. Ahmednagar district is drought prone with an average annual rainfall of about 400 mm. The soil and water conservation works in Hiware Bazar were implemented on common lands and on private grasslands. Continuous contour trenches (CCTs) were dug on the hill slopes to arrest the erosion of soil, harvest water and encourage growth of grass. A number of water harvesting structures were also built in the village – check dams, percolation tanks, and loose boulder structures. Plantations on forest lands and roadsides were also part of the programme. When Adarsh Gram Yojana was launched in Maharashtra, there were also some pre-conditions set for selection of villages. Most important were the four bandis (or bans) made famous by the Ralegaon Siddhi experience. The four bandis were kurhad bandi (ban on felling trees), charai bandi (ban of free grazing), nasbandi (family planning), and nashabandi (ban on liquor). People also had to agree to a certain amount of shramdaan (voluntary physical labour), except for the landless who were exempt from it.
The significance of these five ideals needs to be understood keeping in mind the situation in Hiware Bazar at that time the late 1980s. Tree felling and open grazing was common among both rich and poor households. The surrounding hillocks, according to many local people, had a barren look, soil erosion was prominent and groundwater levels very low. In addition to this, fodder and fuel wood shortage were common in the village. Though there was a ban on free grazing people were allowed to cut grass and carry it to feed animals.
5.) How significant are the laws and people’s actions, in the context of water resources?Write a short note based on the ideas discussed in the last two sections of the chapter.
Ans: Current laws on ground water use are inappropriate because the basic link between access to groundwater and land ownership on which these rules are based are flawed. Since groundwater has to be extracted from the land above, a link was established between land ownership and control. Underground water does not obey human land ownership boundaries that are made on the surface. Water is a flowing resource and what is extracted from an individual tube well or well depends on the underground rock formation, the recharge from rainfall or surface water. All these factors are happening over a large area. Hence, the actions of others in the region will affect this particular well.Where control over groundwater is linked to land rights, there are no pressures on individual landowners to use water in a fair manner. Nor is there any way to implement policies that take into account the welfare of a broader community and the environment. For instance, in an unregulated system, there is no authority that can determine how many wells, handpumps and other tubewells can be sunk in a given area. Some form of regulation that takes into account the broader aspects of groundwater use is necessary. Therefore, water should be thought of as a collective pool resource that is meant for all people. Similar to roads, rivers, and parks, underground water is also a ‘public property’, it belongs to all. While this is being recognised today by some state governments, it has still not become widespread.
Water use for any region, whether small watershed or river basin, has to take into account all the inflows and the outflows. For a small region through careful planning and social initiative, a more judicious use of water for all is feasible.
6.) In what ways is water bought and sold in your area and for what purposes? Do youthink there should be some checks and balances for this? Discuss.
Ans: In our area:
i) water can be collected from underground by using ‘water pumps’, which run on electricity.
ii) water can be collected from tube-wells.
iii) the municipality sells water by providing pipes which are directly connected to their system.
No such checks and balances are required in our area, as everyone is very cautious about their water supply and water usage, and there are no cases of wastage of water.
7.) Availability of water is decreasing day by day. Ground water level is decreasing.How will it affect our lives, if this situation continues? Discuss the preventivemeasures and our responsibility?
Ans: Effects of decreased groundwater level:
i) It will greatly impact bio-diversity.
ii) Farmers get to face difficulty in cultivating crops.
iii) other sources of water like – sea and oceans’ water level would decrease rapidly, hence impacting marine life.
Preventive measures:
i) Decrease the use of abundant water and preventing wastage of water.
ii) Making laws on a boundary of using water by an individual in a day.
iii) Avoid adequate supply of water.
iv) Regulations should be imposed on less use of water-pumps.