Water is available in abundance in India even then scarcity of water is experienced in major parts of the country. Explain it with four examples.
CBSE Class X Social Science LA (5 Marks)
Answers
(i) The availability of water resources varies over space and time, mainly due to the variations in seasonal and annual precipitation.
(ii) Over-exploitation, excessive use and unequal access to water among different social groups may cause water scarcity.
(iii) Water scarcity may also be an outcome of large and growing population and consequent greater demands for water. A large population means more water to produce more food. Hence, to facilitate higher food-grain production, water resources are being over exploited to expand irrigated areas for dry-season agriculture.
(iv) Most farmers have their own wells and tubewells in their farms for irrigation to increase their production. But it may lead to falling groundwater levels, adversely affecting water availability and food security of the people. Thus, inspite of abundant water there is water scarcity.
Water is the most abundant resource on the earth but the scarcity of water is experienced in most parts of our country. The four reasons are given below,
1) Population explosion: The increasing rate of the population needs more water for their daily activities. Thus, the shortage of water is experienced in urban regions of India.
2) Urbanization: The process of urbanization also affects water resources.
3) Excessive wastage: The excessive waste of water affects the availability of water on the earth.
4) The decreasing rate of groundwater highly affects the natural resources of water such as ponds, lakes, river, etc.