• Damodar Valley Project—- Damodar—– West Bengal & Jharkhand. It includes Maithon & Tilaiya Dam on Barakar river in Bihar, Konar Dam (Konar river) & Panchet Dam (Damodar).
• Rihand Dam —-Rihand —–Uttar Pradesh
• Nagarjunasagar Project —–Krishna—- Andhra Pradesh. Consists of two canals – Lal Bahadur Canal (Left) & Jawahar canal (Right).
• Tungabhadra Project Tungabhadra JV of Andhra Pr & Karnataka.
• Gandak Project Gandak JV between UP, Bihar & Nepal
• Kosi Project Kosi JV of Bihar & Nepal
• Beas Project Beas Includes Pong Dam
• Mayurkashi Project Mayurkashi Mayurkashi is a tributary of Hugli.
• Indira Gandhi Canal It consists of Rajastan Feeder Canal (taking off from Harike Barrage, 204 km long, fully lined masonry canal) & Rajasthan main canal (445Km)
• Narmada Valley Project Involves Sardar Sarovar dam in Gujarat & Narmada sagar (or Indira Sagar) dam in M.P.
• Pochampad Project Godavari Andhra Pradesh.
• Tehri Dam Bhagirathi Uttaranchal. Implemented with Soviet Aid.Highest rock fall dam in the country.
• Parambikulam Project JV between Tamil Nadu & Kerala. Hydro-Electric Projects
• Mata Tella Dam Betwa Near Jhansi in U.P.
• Kangsbati Project West Bengal
• Rajasthan Canal Project Sutlej, Beas JV of Punjab & Rajastan. Ravi water is also used.
• Kadana Project Mahi Gujarat
• Tata Hydroelectric Scheme Indravati Maharashtra. Called Bhivpuri dam.
• Koyna Hydroelectic Dam Koyna Maharashtra
• Sivasamudram Cauvery Falls Karnataka
• Pykara Hydro Elec Project Pykara Tamil Nadu (along Nilgiris)
• Mettur Project Cauvery Tamil Nadu
• Papansam Scheme Tambraparni Tamil Nadu
• Sabargiri Hydel Project Pampa Kerala
• Idukki Project Periyar Kerala
• Sholayar Project Sholayar Kerala. JV between Kerala & Tamil Nadu
• Machkund Power Project Machkund Orissa. JV between A.P & Orissa
• Srisailam Power Project Krishna Andhra Pradesh
• Balimela Hydro Project Sileru river JV between A.P & Orissa
• Umiam Project Umiam Meghalaya
• Salal Hydro Project Chenab J & K
• Thein Dam Project Ravi Punjab
• Banasagar Project Son JV between MP, UP & Bihar
• Jayakwadi Project Godavari Maharashtra
• Kakrapara Project Tapi Gujarat
• Mahi Project Mahi Gujarat
• Malprabha Project Malprabha Karnataka
• Pallivasal project Mudirapujha Kerala
• Poochampad Godavari Andhra Pradesh
• Rajghat Dam Project Betwa
• Sarda Sahayak Ghagara Uttar Pradesh
• Hansdev Bango Project Hansdev M.P.
• Tawa Project Tawa M.P. Tawa is tributary of Narmada
• Ukai Project Tapi Gujarat
• Purna Project Purna Maharashtra
• Rana Pratap Sagar Chambal Rajasthan (Rawatbhata)
• Jawahar Sagar Dam Chambal Rajasthan (Kota)
• Gandhi Sagar Dam Chambal Churasigarh Fort at MP-Rajasthan border
• Chibro Tons Uttar Pradesh
• Dool Hasti Chenab J & K.
• Nathpa Jhakri Satluj Himachal Pr. Biggest hydel power project inIndia
• Panchet Dam Damodar West Bengal

 

 

			Project			River	State
	56.		Damodar Valley Project			Damodar	West Bengal & Jharkhand. It includes Maithon
							& Tilaiya Dam on Barakar river in Bihar, Konar
							Dam (Konar river) & Panchet Dam (Damodar).
	57.		Rihand Dam			Rihand	Uttar Pradesh
	58.		Nagarjunasagar Project			Krishna	Andhra Pradesh. Consists of two canals – Lal
							Bahadur Canal (Left) & Jawahar canal (Right).
	59.		Tungabhadra Project			Tungabhadra	JV of Andhra Pr & Karnataka.
	60.		Gandak Project			Gandak	JV between UP, Bihar & Nepal
	61.		Kosi Project			Kosi	JV of Bihar & Nepal
	62.		Beas Project			Beas	Includes Pong Dam
	63.		Mayurkashi Project			Mayurkashi	Mayurkashi is a tributary of Hugli.
	64.		Indira Gandhi Canal				It consists of Rajastan Feeder Canal (taking off
							from Harike Barrage, 204 km long, fully lined
							masonry canal) & Rajasthan main canal (445
							Km)
	65.		Narmada Valley Project				Involves  Sardar  Sarovar  dam  in  Gujarat  &
							Narmada sagar (or Indira Sagar) dam in M.P.
	66.		Pochampad Project			Godavari	Andhra Pradesh.
	67.		Tehri Dam			Bhagirathi	Uttaranchal.  Implemented  with  Soviet  Aid.
							Highest rock fall dam in the country.
	68.		Parambikulam Project				JV between Tamil Nadu & Kerala.
						Hydro-Electric Projects
	69.		Mata Tella Dam			Betwa	Near Jhansi in U.P.
	70.		Kangsbati Project				West Bengal
	71.		Rajasthan Canal Project			Sutlej, Beas	JV of Punjab & Rajastan. Ravi water is also
							used.
	72.		Kadana Project			Mahi	Gujarat
	73.		Tata Hydroelectric Scheme			Indravati	Maharashtra. Called Bhivpuri dam.
	74.		Koyna Hydroelectic Dam			Koyna	Maharashtra
	75.		Sivasamudram			Cauvery Falls	Karnataka

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

76.	Pykara Hydro Elec Project	Pykara	Tamil Nadu (along Nilgiris)
77.	Mettur Project	Cauvery	Tamil Nadu
78.	Papansam Scheme	Tambraparni	Tamil Nadu
79.	Sabargiri Hydel Project	Pampa	Kerala
80.	Idukki Project	Periyar	Kerala
81.	Sholayar Project	Sholayar	Kerala. JV between Kerala & Tamil Nadu
82.	Machkund Power Project	Machkund	Orissa. JV between A.P & Orissa
83.	Srisailam Power Project	Krishna	Andhra Pradesh
84.	Balimela Hydro Project	Sileru river	JV between A.P & Orissa
85.	Umiam Project	Umiam	Meghalaya
86.	Salal Hydro Project	Chenab	J & K
87.	Thein Dam Project	Ravi	Punjab
88.	Banasagar Project	Son	JV between MP, UP & Bihar
89.	Jayakwadi Project	Godavari	Maharashtra
90.	Kakrapara Project	Tapi	Gujarat
91.	Mahi Project	Mahi	Gujarat
92.	Malprabha Project	Malprabha	Karnataka
93.	Pallivasal project	Mudirapujha	Kerala
94.	Poochampad	Godavari	Andhra Pradesh
95.	Rajghat Dam Project	Betwa
96.	Sarda Sahayak	Ghagara	Uttar Pradesh
97.	Hansdev Bango Project	Hansdev	M.P.
98.	Tawa Project	Tawa	M.P. Tawa is tributary of Narmada
99.	Ukai Project	Tapi	Gujarat
100.	Purna Project	Purna	Maharashtra
101.	Rana Pratap Sagar	Chambal	Rajasthan (Rawatbhata)
102.	Jawahar Sagar Dam	Chambal	Rajasthan (Kota)
103.	Gandhi Sagar Dam	Chambal	Churasigarh Fort at MP-Rajasthan border
104.	Chibro	Tons	Uttar Pradesh
43.	Dool Hasti	Chenab	J & K.
105.	Nathpa Jhakri	Satluj	Himachal Pr. Biggest hydel power project in
			India
106.	Panchet Dam	Damodar	West Bengal

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thermal Power Projects in India

 

1.	Kothagundam Project	Singareni Coalfields	Andhra Pradesh
2.	Dhuraran Project	Kheda district	Gujarat
3.	Satpura Power Station		M.P.
4.	Korba Project		Chhattisgarh
5.	Talcher Power Station	Talcher	Orissa
6.	Obra Power Station	Obra	U.P.
7.	Bhusawal Power Station		Maharashtra
8.	Hardauganj Power Station		U.P.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9.

Bandel Power Station

West Bengal

10.

Chandrapura Power Station

Bihar

11.

Kolaghat Power Station

West Bengal

12.

Bakreshwar (Birbhum) Station

West Bengal

• Drainage: Flow of water through well-defined channels. Network of such channels is called a drainage system .
• Drainage basin: An area drained by a river and its tributaries.
• Watershed: Boundary line separating one drainage basin from other.
• River basins are larger watersheds.
• Drainage pattern of an area depends on the geological time period, nature and structure of rocks, topography, rocks, slope, amount of water and periodicity of flow.

Important drainage patterns:

1. Dendritic: Resembling the branches of a tree. Eg. Northern Plain rivers
2. Radial: Originate from a hill and flow in all directions. Eg. Rivers in Amarkantak
3. Trellis: Primary tributaries parallel to each other and secondary tributaries join them at right angles.
4. Centripetal: Rivers discharge waters from all directions in a lake or depression

A river drains the water collected from a specific area, which is called its catchment area.

Nearly 77 pc of drainage is towards the Bay of Bengal while about 23 pc is towards the Arabian Sea.

The Himalayan Drainage System

Mainly includes the Ganga, Indus and Brahmaputra river basins.

Over the plains, rivers of this system change the course often. River Kosi is also known as the ‘sorrow of Bihar’ due to flooding by its frequent change of course by deposition of sediments.

Evolution

Geologists believe that a mighty river called Shivalik or Indo-Brahma traversed the entire length of the Himalayas some 5-24 million years ago. Over time this got dismembered into the present three major river systems.

The Indus System

Indus river originates from a glacier near Bokhar Chu in Tibet in the Kailash Mountain range. Known as Singi Khamban (Lion’s mouth) in Tibet. It forms a spectacular gorge near Gilgit in J&K. Enters Pakistan near Chillar in the Dardistan region. Flows only through the Leh distt of J&K.

Smaller tributaries: Shyok, Gilgit, Zaskar, Nubra, Hunza, Shigar, Gasting, Dras. On right bank: Kabul river, Khurram, Tochi, Gomal, Viboa and hte Sangar.

Major tributaries: Satluj, Beas, Ravi, Chenab, Jhelum

Jhelum	Origin: Verinag at foot of Pir Pinjal. Flows through Srinagar and the Wular lake. Joins Chenab near Jhang in Pakistan
Chenab	Origin: Two streams (Chandra and Bhaga) which join at Tandi near Keylong in HP. Largest tributary of Indus. Aka Chandrabhaga. Flows for 1180 KM before entering Pakistan
Ravi	Origin: Kullu hills of HP near Rohtang Pass. Enters Pakistan and joins Chenab near Sarai Sidhu
Beas	Origin: Beas Kund near Rohtang pass. Forms gorges at Kati and Largi in the Dhaoladhar range. Meets Satluj near Harike.
Satluj	Origin: Rakas lake near Mansarowar in Tibet. Known as Langchen Khambab in Tibet. Enters India at Ropar. Antecedent river. Bhakra Nangal Project is on this river.

 

The Ganga System

It is the largest river system in India.

Ganga rises in the Gangotri glacier near Gaumukh in the Uttarkashi district. Here it is known as the Bhagirathi. At Devprayag, Bhagirathi meets Alaknanda and is known as Ganga hereafter.

Panchprayag

Vishnu Ganga

Joshimath Dhauli and Vishnu Ganga meet to form Alaknanda

 

Alaknanda	Origin: Satopanth glacier above Badrinath. Consists of Dhauli and Vishnu Ganga.
Yamuna	Origin: Yamnotri glacier on Banderpunch range. Joins Ganga at Prayag (Allahabad). RBT: Chambal, Sind, Betwa, Ken LBT: Hindan, Rind, Sengar, Varuna. Agra canal
Chambal	Origin: Mhow in Malwa plateau. Gandhi Sagar dam, Rana Pratap Sagar dam and Jawahar Sagar dam. Famour for Chambal ravines.
Gandak	Origin: In Nepal between Dhaulgiri and Mt. Everest. Enters Ganga plain in Champaran and joins Ganga at Sonpur near Patna. Two streams: Kaliganfak and Trishulganga.
Ghaghra	Origin: Glaciers of Mapchachungo Tributaries: Tila, Seti and Beri Deep gorge at Shishpani Sarda (Kali) joint it and meet Ganga at Chhapra.
Kosi	Origin: North of Mt. Everest in Tibet. Tributaties: Son Kosi, Tamur Kosi, Arun Changes course often. Sorrow of Bihar.

 

• Ganga enters the plains at Haridwar.
• Left Bank tributaries (LBT): Ramganga, Gomati, Ghaghara, Gandak, Kosi and Mahananda.
• Right Bank tributaries (RBT): Son
• Discharges into Bay of Bengal near Sagar island.

 

Natural Hazards of India

Disaster

A disaster is a sudden, calamitous event that seriously disrupts the functioning of a community or society and causes human, material and economic or environmental losses that exceed the community’s capacity to cope using its own resources.

Vulnerability + Hazard =Disaster

Vulnerability- it is defined as the diminished capacity of an individual or group to anticipate, copes with, resist and recover from the impact of a natural or manmade hazard.

Types of Disaster

Hazards are routinely divided into natural or manmade, although complex disasters, where there is no single root cause, are more common in developing countries. A specific disaster may spawn a secondary disaster. A classical example is Earthquake that cause Tsunami that results in coastal flooding.

Natural Hazards

Natural Hazards are naturally occurring physical phenomenon caused either by rapid or slow onset events which can be

• Geophysical– Earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis and volcanic activity
• Hydrological– Avalanches and Floods
• Climatological- extreme temperatures, drought and wildfires
• Meteorological– Cyclones and storms
• Biological- epidemics and animal plagues

Natural Disasters and Aggravating Factors

Although these hazards are natural but there are certain aggravating factors which will result in increased frequency, complexity and severity of disasters. These factors are

• Climate change
• Unplanned urbanisation
• Under development
• Poverty
• Pandemics

Earthquakes

Earthquakes are tectonic in origin; that is the moving plates are responsible for the occurrence of violent shakes. The occurrence of an earthquake in a populated area may cause numerous casualties and injuries as well as extensive damage to property.

The Earthquake Risk in India

India’s increasing population and extensive unscientific constructions mushrooming all over, including multistoried luxury apartments, huge factory buildings, gigantic malls, supermarkets as well as warehouses and masonry buildings keep – India at high risk. During the last 15 years, the country has experienced 10 major earthquakes that have resulted in over 20,000 deaths.

 

As per the current seismic zone map of the country, over 59 per cent of India’s land area is under threat of moderate to severe seismic hazard-; that means it is prone to shaking of MSK Intensity VII and above In fact, the entire Himalayan belt is considered prone to great earthquakes of magnitude exceeding 8.0-; and in a relatively short span of about 50 years, four such earthquakes have occurred: 1897 Shillong (M8.7); 1905 Kangra (M8.0); 1934 Bihar-Nepal (M8.3); and 1950 Assam-Tibet (M8.6). Scientific publications have warned of the likelihood of the occurrence of very severe earthquakes in the Himalayan region, which could adversely affect the lives of several million people in India.

 

 

In our present state of knowledge, earthquakes can neither be prevented nor predicted in terms of their magnitude, or place and time of occurrence. Therefore the most effective measures of risk reduction are pre disaster mitigation, preparedness and preventive measures.

Govt efforts

• National Earthquake Mitigation Project – it aims at strengthening the structural and non structural earthquake mitigation efforts and reducing the vulnerability in high risk areas.
• National Building Code- a national instrument providing guidelines for regulating the building construction activities.
• Building Material & Technology promotion council
• Institutional arrangements like NDMA
• Capacity building
• Retrofitting

Floods

Floods have been recurrent phenomenon in many parts of India, causing loss of lives and public property and bringing untold misery to the people, especially those in the rural areas. There is also a larger economic impact, as they derail economic activities, thus affecting growth. Indian continent has peculiar climatic conditions since it has floods in some parts whereas drought in other parts.

Over the years, several expert Committees have studied the problems caused by floods and suggested various measures for their management to the Government. However, despite the various steps undertaken over the last five decades, the trend of increasing damage and devastation brought by floods has posed a challenge to the Government as well as to the people. The approaches to flood management presently exercised in India also need to give a re-look to have an integrated strategy for policy and management related to floods.

Brahmaputra River Region:

This region consists of the rivers Brahmaputra & Barak and their tributaries covering seven states .The catchments of these rivers receive very heavy rainfall ranging from 110 cm. to 635 cm. a year which occurs mostly during the months of May / June to September. As a result, floods in this region are severe and quite frequent.

Ganga River Region:

The river Ganga and its numerous tributaries, of which important ones are the Yamuna, the Sone, the Ghaghra, the Gandak, the Kosi and the Mahananda, constitute this river region. The flood problem is mostly confined to the areas on the northern bank of the river Ganga. The damage is caused by the northern tributaries of the Ganga by spilling over their banks and changing their courses.
North West River Region:

The main rivers in this region are the Sutlej, the Beas, the Ravi, the Chenab and the Jhelum, the tributaries of Indus, all flowing from the Himalayas. These carry quite substantial discharge during the monsoon and also large volumes of sediment. They change their courses frequently and leave behind tracts of sandy waste. Compared to the Ganga and the Brahmaputra river region, the flood problem is relatively less in this region. The major problem is that of inadequate surface drainage which causes inundation and water logging over vast areas.
Central India and Deccan Region:

The important rivers in this region are the Narmada, the Tapi , the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna and the Cauvery. These rivers have mostly well defined stable courses. They have adequate capacity within the natural banks to carry the flood discharge except in the delta area. The lower reaches of the important rivers on the East Coast have been embanked, thus largely eliminating the flood problem.

Flood management measures in India

Different measures have been adopted to reduce the flood losses and protect the flood plains. Depending upon the nature work, Flood protection and flood management measures may be broadly classified as under:

(a) Engineering / Structural Measures

The engineering measures for flood control which bring relief to the flood prone areas by reducing flood flows and thereby the flood levels are –

(a) an artificially created reservoir behind a dam across a river

(b) a natural depression suitably improved and regulated, if necessary or

(c) by diversion of a part of the peak flow to another river or basin, where such diversion would not cause appreciable damage.

(d) by constructing a parallel channel bye passing a particular town/reach of the river prone to flooding.

The engineering methods of flood protection, which do not reduce the flood flow but reduce spilling, are:

(a) embankments which artificially raise the effective river bank and thereby prevent spilling and

(b) channel and drainage improvement works, which artificially reduce the flood water level so as to keep the same, confined within the river banks and thus prevent spilling.

Administrative methods

The administrative methods endeavour to mitigate the flood damages by;

(a) Facilitating timely evacuation of the people and shifting of their movable property to safer grounds by having advance warning of incoming flood i.e. flood forecasting, flood warning in case of threatened inundation

(b) Discouraging creation of valuable assets/settlement of the people in the areas subject to frequent flooding i.e. enforcing flood plain zoning regulation.

Landslides

the northward movement of the Indian plate towards China causes continuous stress on the rocks rendering them friable, weak and prone to landslides and earthquakes. The slow motion of the Indian crust, about 5 cm/year accumulates stress to which natural disasters are attributed. Some landslides make unique, and unparalleled catastrophes. Landslides and avalanches are among the major hydro-geological hazards that affect large parts of India besides the Himalayas, the Northeastern hill ranges, the Western Ghats, the Nilgiris, the Eastern Ghats and the Vindhyans, in that order, covering about 15 % of the landmass. The Himalayas alone count for landslides of every fame, name and description- big and small, quick and creeping, ancient and new.

 

The Northeastern region is badly affected by landslide problems of a bewildering variety. Landslides in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal as also those in Sikkim, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh pose chronic problems, causing recurring economic losses worth billions of rupees. A different variety of landslides, characterized by a lateritic cap, pose constant threat to the Western Ghats in the South, along the steep slopes overlooking the Konkan coast besides Nilgiris, which is highly landslide prone.

 

Some spectacular events of tragedies are reported as Varnavat landslide, Uttarkashi District, Malpha landslide Pithoragarh district, Okhimath landslide in Chamoli district, UK and Paglajhora in Darjeeling district as well as Sikkim, Aizawl sports complex, Mizoram.These are some of the more recent examples of landslides. The problem therefore needs to be tackled for mitigation and management for which hazard zones have to be identified and specific slides to be stabilized and managed in addition to monitoring and early warning systems to

 

Remedial Measures

• Afforestation
• Use of geo textiles which reduces slope instability
• Making community aware about impact of landslides and build their capacity to reduce vulnerability
• Proper mapping of Landslide zone and shifting people from such zones
• No mining activities should be allowed in Eco sensitive zones

Cyclones

Cyclones are caused by atmospheric disturbances around a low-pressure area distinguished by swift and often destructive air circulation. Cyclones are usually accompanied by violent storms and bad weather. The air circulates inward in an anticlockwise direction in the Northern hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern hemisphere. Cyclones are classified as: (i) extra tropical cyclones (also called temperate cyclones); and (ii) tropical cyclones.

The Indian subcontinent is one of the worst affected regions in the world. The subcontinent with a long coastline of 8041 kilometres is exposed to nearly 10 per cent of the world’s tropical cyclones. Of these, the majority of them have their initial genesis over the Bay of Bengal and strike the East coast of India. On an average, five to six tropical cyclones form every year, of which two or three could be severe. More cyclones occur in the Bay of Bengal than the Arabian Sea and the ratio is approximately 4:1.

Tropical cyclones occur in the months of May-June and October-November. Cyclones of severe intensity and frequency in the North Indian Ocean are bi-modal in character, with their primary peak in November and secondary peak in May. The disaster potential is particularly high during landfall in the North Indian Ocean (Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea) due to the accompanying destructive wind, storm surges and torrential rainfall. Of these, storm surges cause the most damage as sea water inundates low lying areas of coastal regions and causes heavy floods, erodes beaches and embankments, destroys vegetation and reduces soil fertility.

Remedial measures

• Early warning and Communication- inform those who are likely to be affected and disseminate the information by AIR, Door Darshan, local community radio etc.
• Capacity Building among people and educate people on various aspects of disaster management.
• Storm Shelters- with full amenities for both Humans and Animals
• Bio shields- vegetation, trees, shrubs which develops near the coast, they protect from strong storms and winds.
• Integrated development of coastal areas with strong infrastructure.

DROUGHT

It is difficult to provide a precise and universally accepted definition of drought due to its varying characteristics and impacts across different regions such as rainfall patterns, human response and resilience etc. Drought is a normal, recurrent feature of climate and occurs in all climatic regimes and is usually characterized in terms of its spatial extension, intensity and duration. Drought causes economic, environmental and social impacts.

Ministry of Agriculture is the nodal Ministry in respect of monitoring and managing drought conditions and droughts are classified into meteorological droughts, hydrological droughts and agricultural droughts.

Meteorological drought is classified based on rainfall deficiency w.r.t. long term average – 25% or less is normal, 26-50% is moderate and more than 50% is severe.

Hydrological drought is best defined as deficiencies in surface and sub-surface water supplies leading to a lack of water for normal and specific needs. Such conditions arise even in times of average (or above average) precipitation when increased usage of water diminishes the reserves.

Agricultural drought is identified by 4 consecutive weeks of meteorological drought, weekly rainfall is 50 mm from 15/5/ to 15/10, 6 such consecutive weeks rest of the year and crop planted is 80% in kharif season.

In India, around 68% of the country is prone to drought in varying degrees. 35% which receives rainfall between 750 mm and 1125 mm is considered drought prone while 33% receiving less than 750 mm is chronically drought prone.

National Disaster Management Guidelines on Management of Drought

• The NDMA guidelines on management of drought are issued in 2010. The recommendations are as follows:
• Creation of Drought Monitoring Cells (DMCs) cells at state level with requisite staff.
• Preparation of vulnerability maps for each state by the State DMCs. Development of real-time drought related information by using information and communication technology.
• The watershed development approach would be taken up for drought management.
• Assessment of damage would include agricultural production, depletion of water resources, livestock population, land degradation and deforestation as well as human health.
• Revamping of Drought Management Information System of Department of Agriculture.
• To enable micro level analysis and forecasting, automatic weather station and rain-gauges to be put in place.
• Development of drought resistant crop varieties through large scale research.
• Formulation of a cloud seeding policy.
• Promoting crop diversification through sprinklers/Drip irrigation systems (micro irrigation techniques) etc.

Cloud Bursts

Highly concentrated rainfall over a small area lasting for a few minutes to few hours is called a cloud burst. It leads to sudden flash floods and landslides in which houses collapse and ultimately results in human casualties on a large scale.

Cloud bursts are manifestations of an intense whirling mass of fluid, on small scale, that generate strong currents, which lift the moisture laden air with sufficient rapidity to form dense towering vertical clouds which are capable of shedding water load with great strength and ferocity.

Steep hills favour the formation of these clouds. Also, water flowing down steep slopes brings debris, boulders and uprooted trees with great velocity, damaging any structure that comes in the way.

There is no satisfactory technique for anticipating a cloud burst because they occur in relatively small scale. A very fine network of radars is required to detect the likelihood of a cloud burst which could be very expensive.Cloud bursts causes landslides and flooding.

Tsunami

A tsunami (pronounced su-nah-me) is a wave train, or series of waves, generated in a body of water by an impulsive disturbance that vertically displaces the water column. Earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, explosions, and even the impact of cosmic bodies, such as meteorites, can generate tsunamis. Tsunamis can savagely attack coastlines, causing devastating property damage and loss of life.

The tsunami that occurred during 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake of Mw 9.3 was primarily caused by vertical displacement of the seafloor, in response to slip on the inter-plate thrust fault.  The earthquake and resulting tsunami in the Indian Ocean affected many countries in Southeast Asia and beyond, including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, the Maldives, Somalia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Seychelles and others.

The Government of India has put in place an Early Warning System for mitigation of such oceanogenic disasters under the control of Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad. A state-of-the-art early warning centre was established with the necessary computational and communication infrastructure that enables reception of real-time data from  sensors, analysis of the data, generation and dissemination of tsunami advisories following a standard operating procedure.

The 2004 tsunami also prompted NDMA to formulate Tsunami Risk Management Guidelines to outline inter-agency roles and responsibilities, tsunami risk preparedness, mitigation and response.

The Guidelines recommends practical and effective ways for awareness generation, capacity building, education, training and research & development for better tsunami risk management.  The Guidelines explore options for effective dissemination of tsunami alert and warning messages generated by INCOIS to the concerned agencies and coastal vulnerable communities exposed to tsunamis in a coordinated manner.

 

Heat Wave

A Heat Wave is a period of abnormally high temperatures, more than the normal maximum temperature that occurs during the summer season in the North-Western parts of India. Heat Waves typically occur between March and June, and in some rare cases even extend till July. The extreme temperatures and resultant atmospheric conditions adversely affect people living in these regions as they cause physiological stress, sometimes resulting in death.

 

Higher daily peak temperatures and longer, more intense heat waves are becomingly increasingly frequent globally due to climate change. India too is feeling the impact of climate change in terms of increased instances of heat waves which are more intense in nature with each passing year, and have a devastating impact on human health thereby increasing the number of heat wave casualties.

Health Impacts of Heat Waves

The health impacts of Heat Waves typically involve dehydration, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and/or heat stroke. The signs and symptoms are as follows:

• Heat Cramps: Ederna (swelling) and Syncope (Fainting) generally accompanied by fever below 39*C i.e.102*F.
• Heat Exhaustion: Fatigue, weakness, dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting, muscle cramps and sweating.
• Heat Stoke: Body temperatures of 40*C i.e. 104*F or more along with delirium, seizures or coma. This is a potential fatal condition

 

Rice

The rice is cultivated on the largest areas in India. Historians believe that while the indica variety of rice was first domesticated in the area covering the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas (i.e. north-eastern India).Rice is a nutritional staple food which provides instant energy as its most important component is carbohydrate (starch). Rice is grown in almost all the states of India. The main rice producing states are Tamilnadu, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Chhatisgarh, Punjab, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam and Maharashtra. It is also grown in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Gujrat and Kashmir Valley. The rice growing areas in the country can be broadly grouped into five regions as discussed below :

1. North-Eastern Region:This region comprises of Assam and North eastern states. In Assam rice is grown in the basin of Brahmnaputra river. This region receives very heavy rainfall and rice is grown under rain fed condition.
2. Eastern Region This region comprises of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Eastern Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. In this region rice is grown in the basins of Ganga and Mahanadi rivers and has the highest intensity of rice cultivation in the country. This region receives heavy rainfall and rice is grown mainly under rain fed conditions.

iii. Northern Region: This region comprises of Haryana, Punjab, Western Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. The region experiences low winter temperature and single crop of rice from May-July to September-December is grown.

1. Western Region: This region comprises of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. Rice is largely grown under rain fed condition during June-August to October – December.
2. Southern Region: This region comprises of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Rice is mainly grown in deltaic tracts of Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery rivers and the non-deltaic rain fed area of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Rice is grown under irrigated condition in deltaic tracts.

Wheat

Wheat is the second most important food crop of India next to rice. It is a Rabi or winter crop. It is sown in the beginning of winter and harvested in the beginning of summer. Normally (in north India) the sowing of wheat begins in the month of October-November and harvesting is done in the month of March-April. This is the staple food of millions of people particularly in the northern and north-western regions of India. Unlike rice, wheat is grown mostly as a rabi or winter crop.

The main regions of wheat production in India are U.P., Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujrat,Maharashtra. U.P., Punjab and Haryana together produce more than 66% of the total wheat of the country.

Cotton

 

Cotton requires a daily minimum temperature of 16ºC for germination and 21ºC to 27ºC for proper crop growth. During the fruiting phase, the day temperature ranging from 27ºC to 32ºC and cool nights are needed. The sowing season of cotton varies considerably from tract to tract and is generally early (April-May) in northern India where it is mostly irrigated. It is delayed on proceeding to down south. It is cultivated largely under rainfed or dryland conditions. An annual rainfall of atleast 50 centimetre distributed through-out the growing season is required for good yield. It is mainly raised during tropical monsoon season, although in southern India it is cultivated during late-monsoon season in winter. The cotton-picking period from mid September to November must have bright sunny days to ensure a good quality.

India has the largest area under cultivation and third largest producer of cotton next only to China and the USA. Within the country two third of total area and production is shared by four states. The main states for cotton production are Panjab, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana.

Jute

Jute is a crop of humid tropical climates. It thrives well in areas with well distributed rainfall of 2,500 mm spread over vegetative growth period of the crop with no cloudiness. Locations with a mean rainfall of <1,000 mm, incessant rainfall and waterlogging are not suitable for its cultivation.

West Bengal, Bihar and Assam grow jute extensively.

Sugercane

Sugarcane belongs to the grass family. It has a thick jointed stem, Which contains the cane sugar, The juice can be taken as a drink or made into sugar, jaggery or khandsari. . The by-products of sugar are very useful. Bagasse is used to make paper, cattle feed, fuel for mills-and cardboard; molasses for power alcohol. Fertilizers, yeast and rum; and press mud of wax. and shoe polish. It supports the pesticide and fertilizer industries. Sugar factories provide employment to over a million ‘workers. India is the second largest sugarcane producer in the world.

Climatic and soil conditions which favour the cultivation of sugarcane are:-

• Temperature: 20°C-30°C. Temperature above 50°C arrests its growth and temperature below 20°C slows down its growth.
• Rain: 75-120cms. It cannot withstand frost. For ripening it needs a cool dry season.
• Soil: A medium heavy loam is ideal-In northern India it is cultivated on clay loams and alluvial soil while in south India it is cultivated on brown or reddish loams, black cotton soil and laterites.

Leading sugarcane producing states are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab.Haryana, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh.

Rubber

Rubber tree is sturdy, quick growing and tall. It grows on many types of soil provided the soil is deep and well drained. A warm humid equitable climate (2 1′ to 35′) and a fairly distributed rainfall of not less than 200 c m are necessary for the cultivation of rubber crop.

Kerala (accounts for 90% of the total area under rubber), Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andamanand Nicobar Islands. Parts of West Bengal. Orrisa., Maharashtra, Karnataka and’N.E parts of India are potential regions for rubber-cultivation.

Tea

Commercial Tea plantation in India was started by the Britishers in 1923 when wild tea plants were discovered by them in the hilly and forest areas of Assam.

Climatic conditions required for the growing of tea are

• Temp: 13-35°C. Average of 25°C is suitable.
• Humidity: – High humidity, heavy dew and morning fog promote growth if healthy leaves.
• Rainfall: Annual rainfalI (range) 150-350cm (well distributed)
• Soil- Well drained mountain soil, light, loamy, porous rich in nitrogen and iron/ laterite like the soil found in Assam

Assam is the leading producer that accounts for more than 50% of tea production of India. Tea producing areas of Assam are the hill slopes bordering the Brahmaputra and Surma valleys. West Bengal is the second largest producer of tea where tea is mostly grown in the districts of Darjeeling, Siliguri, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Bihar districts. Tamil Nadu is the third largest producer where tea growing areas are mostly restricted to Nilgiri hills.

Coffee

Commercial cultivation of coffee was started by British entrepreneurs in South India during 1820’s.

Most of India’s coffee is grown in three Southern states: Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, the first two account for nearly 90 percent of total production. Much of the coffee in Kerala and Karnataka is grown in the Western Ghats, a mountain chain that runs parallel to the coast line and about 100 miles inland from the Arabian Sea. India exports nearly 70 percent of the coffee it produces. These exports consist mainly of high grade beans from both the Arabica and the Robusta growing regions.

Geographical Requirement for Coffee cultivation are as follows:-

• Temperatute:- should be ranging between 15 to 28°C throughout the year. Frost free environment. Direct raysof the sun are harmfui as it.is grown in the shade of trees. In its early stages of growth it needs to be protected from hot.dry winds.
• Rainfall:- 125cm- 250 cms throughout the year.
• Soil:-. Well drained, weathered volcanic soil, red and laterite soil. The presence of humus is essential. .
• Topography:- grows on hill slopes at elevation ranging from 500mts to 1800mts.