RIVER LINKING PROJECTS AND THEIR IMPACTS IN INDIA

River Linking is project linking two or more rivers by creating a network of manually created canals, and providing land areas that otherwise does not have river water access and reducing the flow of water to sea using this means. It is based on the assumptions that surplus water in some rivers can be diverted to deficit rivers by creating a network of canals to interconnect the rivers.

 


RIVER LINKING PROJECTS ( MAP)

In India the National River Linking Project (NRLP) is designed to ease water shortages in western and southern India while mitigating the impacts of recurrent floods in the eastern parts of the Ganga basin. The NRLP, if and when implemented, will be one of the
biggest inter basin water transfer projects in the world.

Some of the proposed river links in India are as follows:

Mahanadi - Godavari Link

Inchampalli - Nagarjunasagar Link

Inchampalli - Pulichintala Link

Polavaram - Vijayawada Link

Almatti - Pennar Link

Srisailam - Pennar Link

Nagarjunasagar - Somasila Link

Somasila - Grand Anicut Link

Kattalai – Vaigai - Gundar Link

Ken - Betwa Link

Parbati - Kalisindh - Chambal Link

Par - Tapi - Narmada Link

Damanganga - Pinjal Link

Bedti - Varada Link

Netravati - Hemavati Link

Pamba – Anchankovil - Vaippar Link

Kosi - Mechi link

                                    Kosi - Ghaghara link

Gandak - Ganga link

Ghaghara - Yamuna link

Sarda - Yamuna link

Yamuna - Rajasthan link

Rajasthan - Sabarmati link

Chunar - Sone Barrage link

Sone dam - Southern tributaries of Ganga link

Manas - Sankosh - Tista - Ganga link

Jogighopa - Tista - Farakka link

Farakka - Sunderbans link

Ganga - Damodar - Subernarekha link

Subernarekha - Mahanadi link

Positive points associated with the linking of rivers are as follows

• Interlinking would lead to a permanent drought proofing of the country .
• Raising the irrigation potential to equal the current net sown area of about 150 million hectares.
• Mitigate the annual floods in Ganga and Brahamputra Add 34,000 MW of hydropower to the national pool.
• The movement claims that Ganga-Bramaputra are not really water abundant and site the examples of other failed water projects in the world.

 

Negative points associated with the linking of rivers are as follows:

•  Loss of habitat: River interlinking might affect fish feeding and breeding habitats in the rivers and lakes in the water donor zones due to lowering of water volume and enhanced siltation load. The flood plains and wetlands connected with donor rivers would also be affected. River run-offs provide energy for a number of vital processes in downstream estuaries, delta and coastal areas. Reduced river discharge could result in loss of coastal habitats such as mangroves, coral reefs, sea grasses, estuarine and delta regions. 
• Water quality changes: Significant changes in water quality of rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal waters could occur due to changes in sediment load, nutrients and contaminant levels. The levels of toxicants and contaminants in donor rivers may go up owing to reduction in self-purifying functions subject to changes in flow regimes.

• Loss of biodiversity: Each river system has distinct groups of biota different from other water bodies. When environment is altered, they are affected, with particular threat to endangered and endemic species. The linkage of rivers could also lead to loss and homogenisation of genetic diversity of fishes.
• Changes in land-ocean interactions: River is a critical component of the delta estuary-coastal sea ecosystem. Un-impounded rivers provide energy for a number of vital processes in downstream estuaries, delta and coastal areas, upon which healthy fisheries are dependent. The linkage of rivers could alter the timing and quantity of river discharge into the sea, which may alter the river-mediated land ocean interactions and coastal fisheries.
• The reductionist view of engineering is unable to recognise the ecological significance of the unhindered flows in the river as critical to drainage, transportation of sediments, recharge of groundwater, maintenance of the delta and highly productive estuarine ecosystems and related biodiversity. Hence, it finds little difficulty in locating ‘surplus’ river basins! (Jayanta Bandyopadhyay and Shama Perveen of IIM Kolkata, India, 2004).

  SO, NOW IT IS OUR DUTY TO THINK WHETHER IT  WILL BE  GOOD OR NOT.. IF POSSIBLE LETS HAVE A DISCUSSION.....