ADVERSE ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF FAULTY UTILIZATION OF WATER RESOURCES IN INDIA

Author: Deepak Kumar Hazarika
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5555/book.001.01

Abstract:
India, one of the wettest countries in the world, continues to experience floods and droughts as a result of improper water resource management. Since gaining independence, the construction of large dams has received far too much attention. However, these large dams have forced millions of tribal people to relocate, submerged millions of hectares of productive forest land, and failed to stop and regulate floods in the downstream valley. These massive dams and multipurpose projects have had an adverse effect on the environment, causing the soil in the command regions to deteriorate as a result of ongoing water logging and rising soil salinity. The Indo-Gangetic plains of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana include the majority of the areas affected by rising salinity. Water pollution refers to contamination of water or alternation of physical, chemical and biological properties of water. The discharge of sewage or trade effluent, discharge of gaseous substance into water bodies which may or likely to create nuisance and render the water harmful or injurious to the life and health of animals or of plants or of aquatic life. Water pollution reduces the amount of pure fresh water that is available for such necessities as drinking and cleaning and for recreation activities. Water gets contaminated by the material with which it comes into physical contact. The factors responsible for water pollution may be artificial or natural. But, more than natural factors, it is the unprecedented industrial production rate that is responsible for the scarcity of pure drinking water. Water becomes polluted when chemicals and other waste materials dumped into it. Domestic sewage and industrial waste are the major sources of water pollution in India. Water from all sources in India is not drinkable unless it is treated. Several stomach diseases are caused by the use of polluted water. According to World Health Organization (WHO), 11% diseases in India are caused by contaminated water and it is also the main cause behind almost all communicable diseases.

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