2001: THE old man shuffled his feet, acutely embarrassed. No matter which part of India you're in, the first thing you do is offer your guests a glass of water. And this was one part of Nallamada in Andhra Pradesh blessed with that element. Things had changed, though. "Please don't drink it," he said, finally. "See how it is?" he asked, showing us a tumbler.
The Polavaram Project was envisaged to harness the Godavari's waters for much needed irrigation purposes in the coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh and the drier Rayalaseema region. However, the project remains dogged by controversy because there has been no agreement on the area to be submerged and the rehabilitation package to be offered to the project affected people.
Rising population and over-exploitation of groundwater for irrigation has aggravated conflict among farmers located at the upper reaches and the tail end of the Palkhed canal system of the Upper Godavari project of Maharashtra.
Water is important for economic development, and many parts of India already face issues of water scarcity. This study predicts that intensity of rainfall will increase under climate change. Issues such as water scarcity may also become more prevalent.
Faced with a barrage of criticism from the Opposition that it has failed to stop Andhra Pradesh from going ahead with the construction of "unauthorised" irrigation projects in the Krishna and Godav
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee recently added five more members to the task force that has been entrusted with the job of linking the nation's rivers. They are R K Pachauri, director, Tata
