To overcome the flood crisis, Union Minister Gadkari proposes the formation of State Water Grid in Maharashtra.
He said that it will help the State Government to ensure the availability of the water in drought-prone areas and save the resources to manage the flood crisis.
How the State Water Grid will be formed?
– It will be formed on the lines of the National Power Grid and Highway Grid.
– The idea behind it is to divert the water of flood from one river basin to another river basin basically in the drought-prone areas of the state.
– With the help of Grid, the areas with the shortage of water, scanty rainfall can get relief.
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What will be the benefits of State Water Grid?
– It will help the government to ensure the availability of the water in drought-prone areas and save the resources to manage the flood crisis.
– It will also help to increase the area under irrigation and therefore also bring a significant reduction in the numbers of suicides of the farmers.
– With this agriculture produce will increase which strengthen the rural and national economy.
– The stress will also be relieved on the local resources due to the diversion of floodwater. In near future, transportation of goods and passengers through rivers (Water transport) van be commenced.
– Also, alongside fishing and other businesses can flourish and major employment can be generated if such type of project is taken up as essential infrastructure.
Shri Gadkari also informed that his Ministry is doing water conservation by using the soil/murum from water bodies, drains and rivers for construction of Highways. his synchronization of N.H. construction and water conservation results not only in increasing water storage capacity but saving environment.
In Buldhana District, initially, this activity was done on a large scale as a pilot project and hence named it as ‘Buldhana Pattern”. He further informed that, due to this activity in Maharashtra, around 225 lakh cubic meter of material from water bodies, drains and rivers has been used in the highway works with a result of an increase of 22500 TCM (Thousand Cubic Meter) of water storage capacity at `No cost to State Government’.
This has charged the groundwater table. Due to deepening and training of river, drains, etc, the floods have reduced, which otherwise spreads in the nearby field due to reduced discharge capacity of rivers and drains.
He also informed that the Tamaswada Pattern adopted in Wardha and Nagpur districts which is another effort towards Rain Water Harvesting, Conservation and Ground Water Recharge. All these works are done on the basis of Scientific and Complete Development of Mini-Micro Watersheds based on the study of HydroGeology, Topography and Civil Engineering. Tamaswada Pattern is most helpful to generate augmented Surface rain and Ground Water storages. It creates Flood free as well as Drought free situation in treated Watershed.
No doubt there is a need for such measures. Serious problems have been created in different parts of the state due to floods and so there is an urgent need for the plan to manage this type of natural disaster.
Source: PIB
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