Interlinking

of
Tamilnadu
rivers

V.SIVACHANDRAN(14BCL0309) -B1 SLOT

Interlinking of Tamilnadu
Rivers
Tamil Nadu has 17 major river basins and most of them are water stressed.
Agricultural sector consumes about 75% of the water resources.
There is growing demands for water from industry and domestic users and also
interstate competition for surface water resources also intensifies.
Given the geographical area of about 13 m.ha and the average annual rainfall of
about 950 mm with bi-modal distribution, the surface water potential is estimated at 25000
MCM (893 TMC) and the ground water potential is about 22400 MCM (800 TMC). The
demand for non-agricultural purposes in year 2025 will be about 16500 MCM (589 TMC)
and the demand for agriculture purposes will be about 45000 MCM (1607 TMC) thus
leaving a supply-demand gap of about 14100 MCM (504 TMC) (29.7 %). Given the state
water policy, priority is given for domestic use followed by irrigation and industry etc.
indicating that agricultural sector has to manage the scarcity in the future.
In Tamil Nadu Large chunk of population is engaged in agriculture activities.
Agriculture continues to be the prime mover of the State economy supporting 56 percent of
the population and contributes 12.3 percent of the State income of 2007-08 Having
geographical area of 130 lakh ha, its net sown area has come down to 50.62 lakh ha in
2007-08 from 61.35 lakh ha in seventies. So, interlinking of river project will help to meet
this demand

Major river basins in tamilnadu

River basins of tamilnadu

List of major rivers in tamilnadu

Bhavani River

The Bhavani is a 217-kilometre (135 mi) long perennial river fed mostly by the southwest
monsoon and supplemented by the northeast monsoon. Its watershed drains an area of
0.62 million hectares (2,400 sq mi) spread over Tamil Nadu (87%), Kerala (9%)
and Karnataka (4%).

Kaveri River

The Kaveri basin is estimated to be 81,155 square kilometres (31,334 sq mi) with many
tributaries including the Shimsha, the Hemavati, the Arkavati, Honnuhole, Lakshmana
Tirtha, Kabini, Bhavani River, the Lokapavani, the Noyyal and theAmaravati River.
The river's basin covers four states and Union Territories, as follows: Tamil Nadu, 43,856
square kilometres (16,933 sq mi); Karnataka, 34,273 square kilometres
(13,233 sq mi); Kerala, 2,866 square kilometres (1,107 sq mi), and Puducherry, 160 square
kilometres (62 sq mi)

Noyyal river

The river's basin is 180 km (110 mi) long and 25 km (16 mi) wide and covers a total area of
3,500 km2 (1,400 sq mi). Cultivated land in the basin amounts to 1,800 km2 (690 sq mi) while
the population density is 120 people per km (311/mi) in the countryside, and 1000 people
per km (2590/mi) in the cities.

Cheyyar river

Cheyyaru River is an important seasonal river that runs through the Thiruvannamalai
District of the state of Tamil Nadu in South India. It is a tributary of Palar River
The river receives most of its water from the Northeast and Southwest monsoons and is the
major source of irrigation for several villages, including the towns
of Cheyyaru and Vandavasi along its bank

Palar river

It rises in Nandi Hills, India inKolar district of Karnataka state

flows 93 kilometres (58 mi) in Karnataka, 33 kilometres (21 mi) in Andhra Pradesh and 222
kilometres (138 mi) in Tamil Nadu before its confluence into the Bay of Bengal at Vayalur
about 100 kilometres (62 mi) south ofChennai.

Thamirabarani river
flows through Tirunelveliand Tuticorin districts of the Tamil Nadu state of southern India.

Ponnaiyar river

flows south and then east for 400 kilometres (250 mi) through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu,
emptying into the Bay of Bengal atCuddalore.
It has a catchment area of 1,424 square miles (3,690 km2) located in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu
and Andhra Pradesh states.

Vaigai river

The Vaigai is 258 kilometres (160 mi) long, with a drainage basin 7,031 square
kilometres (2,715 sq mi) large
The main tributaries of the river Vaigai are, the river Suruliyaru, the river
Mullaiyaaru, the river Varaganadi, the river Manjalaru and river Kridhumaal.

Perennial Rivers in Tamil Nadu

Bhavani River:
Fed, mostly, by the south western monsoon, this is one of the main tributaries
of the river Kaveri.
Cheyyar River:
This tributary of River Palar is a major seasonal river that flows through the
district of Tiruvannamalai.

Chittar River:
The main river originates from the Courtallam Hills of the Shencottah taluk
and Tenkasi taluk in the district of Tirunelveli. It flows through the state along with
its 5 tributaries, 3 distributaries and many small streams.

Ponniyar River:
Flowing across the borders in between the taluks of Villupuram and
Cuddalore, it finally drains into the Bay of Bengal.

Thamirabarani River:
This river originates from the peaks named Agathimalai, Aduppukkal Mottai
and Cherumunji Mottai in the Tirunelveli district.

Vaigai River:
While flowing towards the Palk Strait, it changes its course towards south east
near Sholavandan and passes through the town of Madurai.

Non-perennial Rivers in Tamil Nadu

Gundar River:
It mainly flows through the districts of Tirunelveli and Virudhunagar in Tamil
Nadu.

Noyil River:

This tributary of Kaveri flows through Dharapuram taluk and Palladam taluk in
Erode district and Coimbatore district respectively.

Suruli River:
This originates from the Suruli Waterfall, which is among the major tourist
attractions in the Theni district.

Vaipar River:
With its origination in the bordering hills of the Kerala state, the river runs
through the Virudhunagar district as well as the Theni district.

Interlinking of river

Benfits of this project

Irrigation area will increase

It will reduce the poverty and floods & distribute water equally.
The main occupation of rural India is agriculture and if monsoon fails in a year, then
agricultural activities come to a standstill and this will aggravate rural poverty.
Interlinking of rivers will be a practical solution for this problem, because the water
can be stored or water can be transferred from water surplus area to deficit.
Interlinking of rivers will also have commercial importance on a longer run. This can
be used as inland waterways and which helps in faster movement of goods from one
place to other.
Interlinking creates a new occupation for people living in and around these canals
and it can be the main areas of fishing in India.

Demerits of this project

We dont know whether the inter-linking project will deliver the benefits of flood control
There are uncertainty and unknowns about operations, how much water will be shifted and
when, whether this may cause waterlogging, salinization and the resulting desertification in
the command areas of these projects.
The inter-link would create a path for aquatic ecosystems to migrate from one river to
another, which in turn may affect the livelihoods of people who rely on fishery as their
income.
As regards to the impact on fish and aquatic biodiversity, there could be positive as well as
negative impacts.
In at least some inter-link projects, neighboring states may be affected, and national
concerns for the project must be negotiated.

Interlinking of rivers will cause huge amount of distortion in the existing environment.
In order to create canals and reservoirs, there will be mass deforestation. This will

have impact on rains and in turn affect the whole cycle of life.
Usually rivers change their course and direction in about 100 years and if this

happens after interlinking, then the project will not be feasible for a longer run.
Due to interlinking of rivers, there will be decrease in the amount of fresh water
entering seas and this will cause a serious threat to the marine life system and will

be a major ecological disaster.

Due to the creation of Canals and Reservoirs, huge amount of area which is
occupied by the people will be submerged leading to displacement of people and

government will have to spend more to rehabilitate these people.

The amount required for these projects is so huge