Long Answer-Class 10 – Social Science -Geography-Chapter 3 Social Geography Water Resources

Class10- Long Answer-3-Social Geography Water Resources

Q1. Water is available in abundance in India. Even then scarcity of water is experienced in major parts of the country. Explain it with four examples.

Ans : a. The availability of water resources varies over space and time, mainly due to the variations in seasonal and annual precipitation.

 b. Over-exploitation, excessive use and unequal access to water among different social groups.

c. Water scarcity may be an outcome of large and growing population and consequent greater demands for water. A large population means more water to produce more food. Hence, to facilitate higher food-grain production, water resources are being over exploited to expand irrigated areas for dry-season agriculture.

d. Most farmers have their own wells and tubewells in their farms for irrigation to increase their production. But it may lead to falling groundwater levels, adversely affecting water availability and food security of the people. Thus, inspite of abundant water there is water scarcity.

Q2. Describe any four traditional methods of rainwater harvesting adopted in different parts of India.

Ans :  Methods of rainwater harvesting used in India are:

a. Guls and Kuls: People built guls and kuls in hilly and mountainous regions to divert water. These are simple channels. They are mainly used in the Western Himalayas.

 b. Roof top rainwater harvesting: Commonly practised to store drinking water in Rajasthan.

c. Inundation Channels: These channels developed in the flood plains of Bengal to irrigate fields.

 d. Khadins and Johads: In arid and semi-arid regions, some agricultural fields were converted into rain fed storage structures. These structures are found in Rajasthan.

e. Tankas: The tankas were built inside the main house or the courtyard. They were connected to the sloping roofs of the houses through a pipe. Rain falling on the rooftops would travel down the pipe and was stored in these underground ‘tankas’.

The first spell of rain was usually not collected as this would clean the roofs and the pipes. The rainwater from the subsequent showers was then collected. The rainwater can be stored in the tankas.

Q3. Why are different water harvesting systems considered a viable alternative both socio-economically and environmentally in a country like India?

Ans : Keeping in view the disadvantages and rising resistance against the multi-purpose projects, water harvesting system is considered a viable alternative both socioeconomically and environmentally.

1.In ancient India also along with the sophisticated hydraulic structures, there existed an extraordinary tradition of various water harvesting systems.

2. People adopted different techniques in different areas. In hilly regions people built diversion channels like the ‘guls’ or “kuls’ for agriculture.

3. Roof-top rainwater harvesting was commonly practised to store drinking water, particularly in Rajasthan.

4. In the flood plains of Bengal, people developed inundation channels to irrigate their fields. Khadins, Johads and Tanks are the forms of rainwater harvesting practised in Rajasthan.