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Draining out Chambal

Once a brimming river, chambal is fast thinning & gross contamination is taking it towards the path of slow death. Kartikeya Dev Singh traces the course of exploitation

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Currently Chambal is the lifeline of Rajasthan as its water is used across the state on a daily basis.
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For thousands of years, Chambal river has been the lifeline of eastern Rajasthan. The river has even found mention in the great poem Mahabharata where it is addressed as Charmanvati. However, now it appears that after centuries of providing sustainance to humans, the river appears to be going down the same way as the once mighty Sarawati river. The reason: over-exploitation of the river in various ways by humans.

LIFELINE FOR MANY

It would not be wrong to say that currently Chambal is the lifeline of Rajasthan as its water is used across the state on a daily basis. Chambal provides drinking and irrigation water to Bundi and Kota while over 15 hundred villages in Bharatpur district also get the benefit of its water.  Moreover, even the capital city – Jaipur – gets water from Chambal as at times the river’s water has been lifted to fill Bisalpur dam. There are demands by farmers and locals alike from Bhilwara and Ajmer districts for a greater share of water which eventually would be brought from Chambal. “In this way, the river might die sooner than later. Unplanned exploitation will not benefit anyone,” said Rajpal Singh, an eminent environmentalist.

ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION

The demand for water to be used for agricultural and drinking purposes is not a great threat to the river, it is the illegal river sand mining that has largely contributed to environmental issues.

“A study conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) revealed that the mining activities were changing the hydrology of the river which could have serious after effects. This is when the river’s flow is inadequate in the present time is decreasing still at the rate of three per cent annually,” said Tejvir Singh, retired IFS.

CONSTRUCTION OF DAMS

Construction of various dams on the river is also strangulating the once life giving river. “There are already four major hydro-electric projects on Chambal. Another report by the WII says that the river stretch between Kota and Parbati-Kali Sindh is ecologically dead resulting in loss of precious habitat of around 110 kilometres. Moreover, several water harvesting structures such as the Dholpur Lift and Pinhat Lift has also reduced the flow of the river affecting the ecosystem. In Kota itself nearly thirty thousand cusec used water is dumped in the river on a daily basis which includes medical waste, industrial and chemical discharge among other harmful discharges,” Singh said. And to top it, the monsoons are reducing with each passing year. Without government intervention and will, it appears that the river would die a slow death.

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