Question

why in Cherrapunji which is about 11000 mm of rainfall annually suffers from Acute storage of drinking water. give reason ?​

Answer 1

Answer:

t Independence, only 6% of rural India had access to safe drinking water. That figure has gone up to 82%. The per capita availability of renewable freshwater in the country, however, has fallen drastically over the last 50 years. The water table is rapidly falling with unregulated over-exploitation of groundwater. By 2025, water scarcity in India will be acute. And big dams, mega river-linking projects or privatised water distribution may not help

India is a land of rivers. There are 14 major, 44 medium and 55 minor river basins in the country. Major rivers have a catchment area of 20,000 square kilometres or above, medium between 2,000 and 20,000 square kilometres and minor systems have a catchment area of 2,000 square kilometres or less. But, in some dry areas of Rajasthan, every inch of land contributes water through runoff to these rivers.

The major river basins constitute about 83-84% of the total drainage area. This, along with the medium river basins, accounts for 91% of the country's total drainage. Though only the last 4,000 kilometres of the Brahmaputra pass through Indian territory, the river carries 31% of all the water carried by Indian rivers. By contrast, the Ganges carries about 30%. In all, a total of 1,645 cubic kilometres of water flows through our river system every year.

Major river systems of India

River

Catchment area (sq km)

Annual flow (million cubic metres)

Ganges 8,61,404 4,93,400

Indus 3,21,289 41,955

Godavari 3,12,812 1,05,000

Krishna 2,58,948 67,675

Brahmaputra 2,58,008 5,10,450

Mahanadi 1,41,589 66,640

Narmada 98,796 40,705

Cauvery 87,900 20,950

Tapti 65,145 17,982

Periyar 55,213 3,238

Brahmani 39,033 18,310

Mahi 34,842 8,500

Sabarmati 21,674 3,200

Given this extensive river system, our country's planners have been justified in storing the water for hydroelectric power generation as well as irrigation. Consequently, India ranks amongst the most important dam-building nations in the world. The Register of Large Dams in India lists 3,600 completed dams, and between 300-400 in varying stages of construction.