Our Water Resources * Water is the most important thing on the earth. - It is a free gift of nature. - Life is not possible without water. - We depend on water for all our needs. The uses of water are- * Drinking * Bathing * Washing * Cleaning * Cooking * Irrigation “Irrigation means supplying water to land or crops”. The various means of water resources are- * It is the best means of irrigation. But still we can’t depend only on rains for our irrigation. Reasons- - We don’t have rains throughout the year. - We get rains mostly in the months of July to August. - Sometimes rains are too late. - Sometimes it is too early. - Sometimes it is too heavy which cause flood. - Sometimes it is not at all which cause famines. (Drought) 2) Rivers:- “A large natural stream of water is called as river”. * Some of the important and big rivers in India are: A) The Himalayan Rivers- - The Satluj, Ganga, Yamuna, Brahmaputra. - These rivers rise in the Himalayas and have plenty of water throughout the year. B) Deccan/Southern Plateau Rivers:- - The Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri. - These rivers rise in the Southern plateau and have water during rainy season. 3) Canals:- “Canal is a channel of water drawn from a river or dam”. - It is man-made river. - We have many canals in our country. Ex- Indira Gandhi Canal - These canals supply water for irrigation. - Canal works as a major source of irrigation in the state of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. 4) Dams:- “Dams are strong walls built across the rivers”. - These are man-made lakes. - Water is stored for various purposes. Ex- Irrigation, producing electricity, drinking, washing, cooking etc. * Many big dams have been built across rivers in our country. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru called these dams the ‘new temples of modern India’. Dams Rivers Bhakra Nangal Dam Satluj Gandhi Sagar Dam Chambal Nagarjuna Sagar Dam Krishna Hirakud Dam Mahanadi Kosi Dam Kosi Mettur Dam Kaveri 4) Wells and tube wells:- * Wells are used as a domestic source of water from ancient time. - It is also used for irrigation. * The area where water level is very low, tube wells are built over there. - These tube wells are run by diesel engines or electrical motors. 5) Tanks:- In hilly areas, it is very difficult to dig wells and tube wells. - Big tanks are built. - Rain water is stored. - This water is used for irrigation and other purposes. - In the state of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Karnataka we can see this kind of arrangement. .