Narmada waters creating ripples in arid Kutch despite hiccups

Narmada waters creating ripples in arid Kutch despite hiccups

Subject: Geography

Context–

• A section of the Kutch Branch canal developed a breach within 24 hours of supplying the water into the canal.

Kutch Branch Canal (KBC)-

• It stretches from the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Dam in the Narmada district 750 kilometres away, to the last of the villages of Gujarat’s Mandvi taluka.

Importance of the KBC-

• Provide water for irrigation to 182 villages that have a culturable command area (CCA) of 1,12,778 hectares (278,561 acres).
• It will also provide drinking water in all 948 villages and 10 towns of the Kutch district.
• Now, the KBC is ready to carry water in its entire length, covering 733 km from Sardar Sarovar Dam in Kevadia (now Ektanagar) in Narmada District where the Statue of Unity is located, to Mod kuba.

Issues faced by the community-

• Rising input cost of agriculture
• Borewells for water needs- Cost of digging is high.
• unavailability of groundwater
• Unseasonal rains damaging the crops.

Sardar Sarovar Dam

• The Sardar Sarovar Dam is a concrete gravity dam built on the Narmada river in Navagam near the town of Kevadiya, Narmada District, in the state of Gujarat.
• The dam was constructed to provide water and electricity to four Indian states; Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan.
• The Dam is located in Gujarat’s Narmada district, on the border of Gujarat and Maharashtra.
• To the west of the dam, is Madhya Pradesh’s Malwa plateau, where the Narmada river dissects the hill tracts and culminates in the Mathwar hills.
• The dam irrigates drought-prone areas in Gujarat and arid areas of the Barmer and Jalore districts of Rajasthan.
• The dam also provides flood protection to 210 villages and Bharuch city.
• Saurashtra Narmada Avtaran Irrigation is a major program to help irrigate a lot of regions using the canal’s water.