what is the role of rivers in indian economy?
Answers
i. Rivers have remained important through the ages.
ii. The areas along the banks of rivers have witnessed great cultural and economic progress since ancient times.
iii. Rivers are integral parts of our folklore and folk-songs.
iv. River water is a basic natural resource.
v. It is essential for human, agricultural and industrial activities.
vi. Rivers deposits alluvial soils.
vii. They provide the most productive agricultural lands to the country.
viii. The Ganga, the Kaveri and other deltas have traditionally been the rice growing areas.
ix. An agriculture-dependent on the vagaries of the monsoon; get irrigation water from rivers. Hence rivers are the backbone of the developement of Indian agriculture.
x. Rivers valleys have dense and concentrated settlements.
Xi. Most of the large cities are located on the banks of rivers.
xii. Rivers provide us with essential water supplies.
xiii. They also receive, dilute and transport wastes from settlements. Hence they prove to be biggest cleaners to towns and cities.
xiv. Industrial development has flourished along rivers because numerous industrial processes depend on water.
a. Water is used as raw material.
b. It is used to cool down the hot things.
c. It is used in generation of electricity.
xv. Rivers provide primary channels of inland waterways in the form of navigable waterways.
xvi. They also indirectly through their flat lands, where roads, railways lines and other routes are built.
xvii. Rivers are also being used for recreation; tourist promotion and fishing activities in a big way.
→ Rivers have been of fundamental importance throughout the human history.
→ Water from the rivers is a basic natural resource, essential for various human activities.
→ Therefore, the river banks have attracted settlers from ancient times. These settlements have now become big cities.
→ Using rivers for irrigation, navigation, hydro power generation is of special significance - particularly to a country like India, where agriculture is the major source of livelihood of the majority of its population.