Engineering projects
don't come any bigger than this. If India's prime minister, Narendra Modi, gets
his way, work could soon begin on a project to link large rivers in the
Himalayas and Deccan Peninsula via 30 mega-canals and 3000 dams.
When the work is finished the water network will be twice the length of the
Nile, the world longest river, and it will be able to divert water from
flood-prone areas to those vulnerable to drought.
But geologists and ecologists in India question the science behind the Inter
Linking of Rivers (ILR) scheme. If it goes ahead it might lead to ecological
disasters and coastal erosion that would threaten livelihoods and endanger
wildlife.
.
And yet New Scientist
has learned from the officials close to the project that work on the pilot link
is likely to “start any time soon”, with final clearance from the ministry of
environment and forests expected imminently.
Versions of the ILR scheme
date back more than 60 years to the days of British rule in India. In its
latest incarnation the plan is to link 14 rivers in north India and 16 in the
western, central and southern parts of the country, creating a water network
some 12,500 kilometres long. The idea is to reduce droughts and floods and
create 35 million hectares of arable land in the process, as well as the means
to generate 34,000 megawatts of hydropower.
This project is backed by
Narendra Modi, who became the country’s prime minister in 2014. Since then
India’s National Water Development Agency has completed detailed project
reports for three key initial river links – the pilot link between Ken and
Betwa rivers in northern and central India; Daman Ganga and Pinjal rivers in
western India; and Par and Tapti rivers in western and central India. A
feasibility report of a fourth link between three Himalayan rivers – Manas,
Teesta and Ganges – is in the final stages of preparation.
But many researchers question
the science behind the scheme. They say there isn’t a simple division between
river basins that carry too little and too much water – and that climate change
has triggered changes in rainfall patterns with unpredictable knock-on effects
on water flow.
They argue that it would be
unwise to set in stone a vast new canal network at a time of dramatic environmental
change.
Let's see what they can come up with sha.
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Title : India Plans to Create World's Longest River. See How They Plan To Do It
Description : Engineering projects don't come any bigger than this. If India's prime minister, Narendra Modi, gets his way, work could soon b...
