Ministry of Jal Shakti has launched the 1st Census of Water Bodies in convergence with the 6th Minor Irrigation (MI) Census under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme “Irrigation Census”. The objective of the Census of Water Bodies is to develop a national database for all water bodies by collecting information on …
in the hill-fort of Mandu, Madhya Pradesh, lie the ruins of a 1,400-year-old civilisation ruled by numerous dynasties, including the Mughals. Cocooned in these ruins, at 633.7 metres above sea level, is also a sophisticated and need-based water harvesting system. Devoid of groundwater, the hill-top town depended on rain for …
BEAVERS, known for their ingenuity at damming small streams using branches, are unwittingly contributing to global warming (New Scientist, Vol 142, No 1931). Beaver ponds flood low-lying areas and, like wetlands, cause the decay of submerged vegetation, which produces the greenhouse gases methane and carbon dioxide. But Joseph Yavitt and …
NOTED environmental activist and writer Anupam Mishra's recent book on tanks is a significant contribution to environmental studies for at least three reasons: first, it establishes the historical and continuing role for, and the current relevance of, traditional water conservation, irrigation, and drinking water systems, even faced with the state's …
OUT OF the total 303.42 million ha of land that make up India, 136.18 million ha were categorised in 1987-88 as net sown area and of this, only 43.05 ha receives irrigation. The sources of irrigation, according to official records, are canals, tubewells, tanks, wells and other sources, a classification …
AGRICULTURE IN south India has traditionally been based upon small-scale irrigation, using tanks, wells and river water. In this system, temples were not merely places of worship but played a pivotal role in irrigation management. They represented the crystallisation of community efforts, which explains why Tamil Nadu chief minister J …
