Water crisis in Jhankhand            MANAVI, Email- manavidumka@gmail.com 

While hearing the arguments of petitioners of a PIL case filed in High Court of Jharkhand, Hon Chief Justice Bhagwati Prasad and Hon Justice D N Patel ordered Secretary, Water and Sanitation Department, Government of Jharkhand to submit updated reports on water supply of Pakur and Sahibganj till 17th of February, 2011 and if he fails to meet the deadline, the Court itself will go to these places to hear the pains of common people. It shows the gravity of water scarcity of Jharkhand and inactiveness of the state machineries.      

Ministers have not ensured safe drinking water even in their own native villages:-

Except native village of one Minister of Jharkhand—Chandra Prakash Coudhary, Minister Building division, most of the Ministers’ native villages are facing acute shortage of drinking water. Bimala Pradhan, Minister Women and child welfare, belongs to Baghdega village of Simdega district. Around 20 to 25 families reside in this village. Out of three hand pumps of this village, two are non-functional and most of wells are dry. Jhilinggora of Jamshedpur district is native place of Transport Minister –Champai Soren. Here there are15 hand pumps for 3000 villagers and out of 15 hand pumps 7 are defunct. Villagers are forced to use water of Kharkai River which too has no flowing water these days. Pipara village (block- Madhupur, District-Deoghar) is native place of Haji Hussain Ansari, Wefare and cooperative Minister. There are 15 hand pumps and 10 wells in this village and water table of all these water bodies has gone down and villagers are facing acute shortage of drinking water. Minister for Food and Supply—Mathura Mahato belongs to Nero village of Dhandad district. This village is depending on water supply provided by TISCO Company. TISCO is providing water through tankers and during summer season, villagers are getting less water. The Chief Minister belongs from Kolhan division and more than 40% hand pumps of this division are non-functional.  And finally Sibhu Sorens’ Nemara village (block-Gola, District-Ramgargh) has similar story to tell. The total population of this village is 531 and villagers have to go 2 km away to collect safe drinking water.      

  More than 52% Villages are facing acute Water shortage:-  

Out of total 32,615 villages, 52 percent villages (16,969 villages) are facing acute shortage of drinking water in the Jharkhand state. Out of 3.23 lakhs of drinking water wells of this state, more than 50 percent wells are completely dry and rest another 25% wells will stop providing water for drinking purposes in another 30 days.  The total number of hand pumps in the state is 3, 41860. Out of it, 296000 hand pumps are functional and the rest 45860 tube wells are defunct. The ratio of availability of tube wells in rural areas is 110 persons:: 1 hand pumps and in urban areas, it is

77persons::1 hand pumps. All 16 blocks of Hazaribag district is facing acute shortage of water supply. Out of 14780 tube wells of this district, hardly 10,000 hand pumps are functional. More than 1000 wells have no storage of water. Water table of Hazaribag has gone down 15 feet below than previous years. The condition of neighboring district—Ramgargh is equally bad. Out of 450 hand pumps of Lohargagha town, more than 200 hand pumps are non-functional. 

Recently Water and Sanitation Department of Dumka district tried to install hand pupms at 541 places( because it is Parliament constituency of Sibhu Soren and assembly constituency of Deputy CM and Minister Water and Sanitation –Hemant Soren and assembly constituency of daughter- in- law of Sibhu Soren- Sita Soren) in Dumka district and it got no water at 40 places. It clearly indicates a alarming situation of this district. As per government data block wise status of functional and defunct hand pumps is given below:-  

District Block Total no of Hand Pumps

No of defunct Hand pumps

Dumka Dumka 2069 364Dumka Masalia 2043 334Dumka Jama 2973 510Dumka Ramgarh 2059 418Dumka Jarmundi 2531 455Dumka Saraiyahat 2160 398Dumka Raneshwar 1786 112Dumka Shikaripara 1866 288Dumka Gpikandar 758 172Dumka Kathikund 1101 176                    TOTAL 19442 3229 

 About 34 towns of this state are getting hardly 50 percent water supply as compared to its requirement. Only 7 percent rural population of this is getting safe water through water supply pipes. Water level of Haru, Charwa, Kanke, Hatia, Rukka, Sitarampur dams have reached to alarming stage. 

Status of major water storage dams/ reservoirs of Jharkhand :-  

Name of dams/ reservoirs

Water level in 2011

Water level in 2010

Status of shortage of water level

Observation

Hatia Dam, Ranchi

9.26 feet 28 feet 19 feet below than previous year

It has capacity to provide water till 20th March,2011

Rukka Dam, Ranchi

1917 feet 1915.1 feet

Two feet more than previous year

Enough water for further water supply

Gonda Dam, Ranchi

2110.8 feet

2118.0 feet

Seven feet below than previous year

Capable to water supply til 31st March

Charaba Dam, Hazaribag

10 feet 22 feet 12 feet less than previous year

Unable to supply water.

Adityapur Dam, Jamshedpur

15 feet 35 feet 20 feet less than previous year

Deep water crisis.

Tenughat Dam, Bokaro

    As compare to last year hardly 33% of water is available

Extreme water crisis

Maithan Dam, Dhanbad

140 meter 145 meter 5 meter less Situation is alarming

Hiru Dam, Chatara

14 feet ---- ----- Situation is alarming

Kelaghagh Dam --- ---- ---- Enough water for further water supply

Konara Dam ---- --- --- Situation is alarmingPanchait Hill Dam

---- --- --- Situation is alarming

Tilaiya Dam --- --- --- It will provide water till 10th of April.

Mansanjore Dam --- --- --- Situation is alarming 

Most of rivers which are treated as life lines of different towns of this state are dry:- 

Name of districts Rivers ( life lines) Present statusChatra Manat, Nilanjan , Amjhar,

Mahane, Chako, Barki, BudhMost of these rivers are dry- having no running water.

Ramgarh Damodar, Bhairvi Damodar has adequate water but water of this river is highly polluted

Hazaribagh( Ghatotarn)

Chutua river Dry

Lohardgga Sankh , Koapal There is no water in Kopal riverGumala Sankh, Koyal The both river are drySimdega Palmara DryPalamu Kopal DryGarwa Danro DrySahibganj Ganga The volume/ flow of this river has

decreasedJamtara Ajoy DryDumka Mayurakhi, Sidheswari,

Noonbil Noonbil and Sidheshwari are dry while there is no water flow in Maurakshi river

West Singhbhum Rero, Karo, Dev, Baitarni, Sanjay, Kopal

Most of these rivers are dry- having no running water.

Saraikela Kharkai, Suvarnrekha, Shankh, Karia Nala

Most of these rivers are dry- having no running water.

Pakur Torai, Pagalanadi, Tirpatia, Bardhu

Most of these rivers are dry- having no running water.

 

In Garwa town, water supply has been stopped due to non-availability of water. The volume of water supply has been decreased in Hazaribagh, Kodarma, Tilaiya, Ranchi, Latehar, Dumka, Jharia , Deoghar etc too. In Chatra district, more than 55 thoudand ponds were constructed under MNREGS – all these ponds are dry, having no stored water. Out of 11 thousand ponds of Dumka district, more than 5 thousand ponds are dry.  Loharghaga district had planned to construct 781 ponds during 2010-2011, but still 697 ponds have not been constructed. For the mitigation of impacts of droughts on long term basis, announcement of construction of one lakh ponds was made during 2007-08 by the State government. The state government demanded assistance of 800 crores from Central Government for the construction of these ponds. There were some problems in the estimated cost of these ponds and finally these ponds were not constructed.    

Practically there is no flowing water in major rivers of the state like-Koyal, Shankh, Paras, Swarnrekha, Dewaki etc. As compare to previous years, water level of barrages constructed on Damodar, Mayurakhshi , Ajoy river is 50% less.   

Dumka town is getting 2.5 lack gallon water from Mayurakhi river but since the availability of surface water in this river is practically nil, so PHED is hardly able to provide 50 thousand gallon water to Dumka town.  

Origin –sources of major rivers of Jharkhand are in danger:-

Most of the important rivers’ origin sorces are in dangerThe Damodar river of Jharkhand originates at a place called Chulhapani (Latehar district). Gradually the availability of water bodies at this place is decreasing and thus the existence of the Damodar river is in danger. TheSwaranrekha river is being treated as life line of Jharkhand state. It originates at Ranichua, Pisckanagari. At its origin point water flow is decreasing fastly. Lots of brick kiln industries are growing in these areas which are direct threat to this river. The same story is with Water Falls of Jharkhand.  There is no water fall from Jhonha water fall since the frst week of March.  

  Status of few important projects:-

1. Punashi water reservoir project was started in 1982 and with 77.94 km long canal and it was supposed to irrigate 15384 hectares of land during Kharif season and 8907 hectares of land during rabbi season. This project has not been completed even in 30 years. The original estimated cost of the project was 26.01 crores and it has reached up to 446 crores. 606 families of 16 villages were displaced by this project and till yet proper rehabilitation of these families has not done by the government. Again, in 2007, with the investment of 58 crores a project was sanctioned to solve the drinking water problem of 1.5 lack people of Deoghar town and targeted completion year f this project was 2009. Still 40 percent works of this project is pending.

2. With the estimated investment of 25 crores, a drinking water project was started in Jhumaritilaya in the year of 2005 and it was supposed to supply drinking water to Kodarma town. 2009 was completion year of this project but till date hardly 40 percent works have been completed.

 

Jharkhand is thirsty even after expenditure of Rs 1700 crore:-

After the formation of new state- Jharkhand has invested more than Rs1700 crore for ensuring safe and adequate drinking water but still it has failed to provide adequate drinking water even in urban centers.  

# Funds allotted and utilized for drinking water since 2002(in crores) 

Year Allotted amount Utilized Amount 2002-03 100.00 64.162003-04 142.50 50.192004-05 108.55 101.702005-06 156.94 131.982006-07 162.50 151.012007-08 210.78 170.282008-09 258.37 233.282009-10 292.35 255.822010-11 275.00 103.00 

In spite of all these investments/ allocations, the state has failed to fulfill even drinking water demands in its urban pockets.  

# Demand and supply ratio of Drinking Water of urban centers of Jharkhand

(It is based on total population—2009- of these places, in terms of lack gallons)

Sn Name of urban centers Supply Demand 1. Ranchi 310-370 440-4602 Dhanbad 184 3503 Jamshedpur 106.03 221.164 Jugalsalai 3.0 17.85 Mihijam 4.79 12.836 Mango 1.10 64.117 Deoghar 1.8 37.978 Garwa 2.5 14.169 Daltanganj 8.84 27.5610 Madhupur 7.38 18.2611 Godda 4.16 14.2812 Pakur 2.5 13.0913 Sahibganj 1.60 30.9314 Chas 5.2 37.5215 Phusro 1.7 32.2116 Chatra 2.5 16.2217 Hazaribag 3.7 49.1118 Giridih 16.2 38.219 Jhumaritillaya 18.0 26.8220 Gumala 4.5 15.3421 Simdega 2.0 13.1122 Chaibasa 7.5 24.5623 Chakradharpur 3.0 14.82 

During last five years 135 projects of Rs. 297 crores were taken up to solve the drinking water problems in rural areas of this state. Till today, only 58 projects have been completed rest 76 projects are still not been completed.  The names of incomplete projects are – Baredih, Gomda,Bareda, Tau, Tanju, Chirudih, Tapkra, Govindpur, Barajamada, Tankisai, Kumarduggi, Kutpani, Patahatu, Goielkera, Manushmuria, Senha, Kolevira, Banaso, Chatarmaro, Jobhiya, Muramkala, Bahatu, Ichatu, Soso, Kusumdih, Pardih, Mahu, Khandel, Gadhake, Lolo, Kurum, Burhakhokhara,, Chetar, Markacho, Barbedia, Narkopi, Mahuda bazaar, Bhojudih, Fatehpur, Jainamore, Sonabad, Chandankairi, Surhi, Nawadih, Dantu, Hazari kuradgarha, Bagodar, Dumri, Sriya, Birani, Madhuban, Pirtarn, Lalgarh, Khaodhi, Panchpariya, Mogar, Sohanpur, Rohini, Gairiya, Bindapathar, Khajuri, Karmatarn, Beba, Saraoni, Pathargama, Basantrai, Mahagama, Naraini, Aadharn, Kurd Dumaria, Baniyadih, Kakni, Islapur and Govindpur.    

State Capital in a bad shape:-

Ranchi, the capital city of Jharkhand, is located at 23.350 N and 85.330 E. The total area covered by Ranchi-Municipal area is about 141 square kilometers and the average elevation of the city is 645 m above Mean Sea Level (MSL). As of 2001 India census Ranchi had a population of 846,454.

Water supply in Ranchi dates back to more than 50 years ago. There are three main dams ( Hatia, Rukka, and Kanke dam) from where the water is supplied to the city. Surface water is always vulnerable to pollution. People of Ranchi are dependent more on purer source like groundwater. Of the total consumption more than 60% comes from groundwater storage. Due to increasing population more pressure has developed on groundwater from the aquifer beneath the city. The process of urbanization and industrialization from last 20 years has caused changes in the water table as a result of decreased recharge and increased withdrawal. Many of the small ponds which were main source of water in the surrounding areas are now filled for different construction purpose affecting the water table. 

Ground Water of Ranchi City:-

Groundwater in Ranchi city is mainly stored here in secondary porosity features or void spaces developed as result of weathering, fracturing, jointing, shearing or faulting phenomena. The gneisses and granitic rocks with associated schists and quartzites constitute the main consolidated rock terrain of Ranchi district.  Major portion of Ranchi city which is part of the Chotanagpur Plateau occupied by hard rock which are devoid of primary porosity and occurrence and movement of groundwater is controlled by the joints, fractures and fissures present in them.

In Ranchi city water table in the consolidated formations is now at its lowest from April to June. Water table is at its highest peak during August and getting stabilized in the month of November.

Sources of groundwater recharge in Ranchi city and the other parts of Jharkhand State is the vertical percolation of rain water. Although city experiences about 1000 to 1200 mm rainfall annually, the rate of vertical percolation is hindered by the presence of highly weathered and metamorphosed rocks. Seeing the population of Ranchi, i.e. 846454 we can easily calculate average consumption of water in Ranchi city for domestic purpose per day. It is 33858160 L per day and it is increasing many fold every year. If we add the water being used in construction of houses, malls, buildings the figure will be more. Due to inadequate water supply from the dams, dependency on ground water is increasing. Water quality deterioration due to overexploitation can take place in a number of ways. Depression in ground water level may result in reversal in flow directions and restrict ground water circulation. Restricted ground water circulation favours mineralization and thus increases the total dissolved solids (TDS) in the ground water. The results of ground water analysis indicate that fluoride is distributed

heterogeneously in ground water of the city. Fluoride in high concentration is found in ground water of southern, western and southwestern zones of the Ranchi city. The water is found to be slightly acidic in nature and high in iron concentration in most of the zones. 

Polluted surface Water:-

Ranchi city is bounded by several small rivulets like Harmu river, Jumar river, Potpoto river, etc. These rivers are becoming sites for indiscriminate disposal of municipal, household and industrial wastes which may contaminate the city groundwater. This is particularly true for the Harmu River as the flow of the river is chocked with different household and municipal wastes. This river may pose major threat to the ground water quality.

Due to lack of proper drainage system most of the house hold liquid waste are sent in the disposal wells underground. Such disposal wells or soak pit tanks have been criticized from a health standpoint because of the potential for pollutants to be released directly into an aquifer. The problem is most critical where disposal wells are near pumping wells. Leakage from these wells can introduce high concentration of BOD, COD, nitrate, organic chemicals, and possibly bacteria into ground water. 

Even underground water is getting polluted and not safe to drink:- 

Underground Water Directorate of Jharkhand recently and the report released about the condition of ground water in the state has created a high level of tension among the people who find themselves really concerned with the welfare and development of the state. As per the report the quantity of Fluoride and Arsenic is far above the acceptable limit in many districts including Sahebganj, Dumka, Dhanbad, Hajaribagh, Chatra, Garhwa, Simdega, Bokaro etc. The underground water in most of the districts has already been reported to contain high percentage of iron. Increasing number of deep bore wells especially in urban areas of Ranchi due to increasing number of apartments has already started aggravating the problems with underground water including high concentration of mineral content of underground water which has gone much deeper than the desired water level. It is important to note that the state is already under short supply of ground water due to its specific geology. But unwise exploration of water and reducing number of ground water recharge structures due to land acquisition, land reclamation- including reclamation of ponds and other wet lands has compounded the problem into a tragedy which is overhead.

Installation of water purifying devices like Aqua guard which used to be a status symbol earlier, has become a necessity now a days. Not only Aqua guards alone, rather a number of other devices by many companied form major parts of the talks of the day. 

Fall in the Underground Water Table through years in Jharkhand

Year                               fall in the Water- Table (m)

2004                              07

2005                              09

2006                              11

2007                              13

2008                              17

2009                              17 

According to  reports of Geological Survey of India, over exploitation of ground water at Jharia is 106%; at Godda, it is 122%; Jamshedpur has exploited more than 132%; and Kanke, it has reached up to 113%. 95% areas of Ramgarh and 93% areas of Dhanbad have been declared as ‘’Danger Zone’’. Similarly 76% areas of Chas and 73% areas have been declared as ‘’Semi-Danger Zone’’.  

Fall of Underground table in different places of Jharkhand  

Ranchi 52 feetJamshedpur 56 feetGodda 61 feetDhanbad 50 feetChas 51 feetGiridih 49 feetPalamu 48 feetChatra 47 feetPakur 48 feetSimdega 10.6 metersGumla 13.8 metersLohardagga 11.7 metersHazaribagh 12.3 metersSighbhum 13.8 metersBokaro 12.1 metersDumka 11.8 metersJamatara 12.5 meters  

Areas with Fluoride content in ground water beyond permissible limit

(Standard Level 1.0 to 1.5 PPM)

Place                                                 Quantity

Pratap Pur in Chatra                           2.42

Chas in Bokaro                                   2.14

Pakur                                                  1.21

Garhwa                                               7.66

Bhandariya                                          1.59   

Areas with high concentration of Iron in Ground Water   

(Standard acceptable limit 2PPM)

Dhanbad area                                    2.92

Bokaro area                                       21.31

Simdega area                                    19.77

Singhbhoom area                              4.6

Dumka area                                       4.95

Garhwa area                                     25.2 

Problems of Arsenic:-  

In Sahebgunj district blocks, namely, Sahebgunj, Rajmahal and Udhawa have been found to be alarmingly contaminated with arsenic present at or above 10 ppb. The presence of arsenic has been also reported from districts like Pakur, Godda, Dumka etc. Rivers flowing through the coal fields of Jharkhand have been reported to carry arsenic responsible for arsenic poisoning in downstream areas of West Bengal. The coal fields of Bachara and Piprawar areas of Jharkhand have contaminated the waters of the Damodar and its tributary, the Safi. According to author, arsenic contamination arises mainly due to the dumping of waste from the coal mines along the river bed. Coals of the area mentioned contains sufficient amount of arsenic.  

Even river water of Jharkhand is not safe:-

In water of Damodar and Panchet river basins, iron content has exceeded at Sindri, Chasnala, Jaridih Bazar Rajrappa, Ramgarh, Giddi and Piparwar. The presence of iron

in the drinking water supply is unhealthy for number of reasons. Beyond desirable limit tase/ appearance are affected. The iron that settles out in the distribution systems gradually reduces the flow of water. Iron also promotes the growth of iron bacteria.

The content of lead has exceeded at Chasnala, Chandrapura,Jaridih bazar, Rajrappa, Ramgarh, Giddi and Piparwar. Lead high dose has been recognized as metabolic poison. Some of the symptoms of acute poisoning are tiredness , abdominal, irritability, anaemia, behavior change in children.

The content of cobalt has exceeded at Rajrappa and Giddi. Although cobalt is an essential element for life in minute amount, at higher levels of exposure it shows mutagenic and carcinogenic effects. After nickel and chromium cobalt is a major cause of contact dermatitis.

The water of Subarnrekha river basin has also been polluted.  Ph of water has exceeded from BIS norms at Muri, Chandil,and Maubhandar. Dissolved oxygen of water is lower from BIS norms at Muri, Chandil, Lupungdih, Gopivalbhpur, Jamshola, and Jaleshwar. Excessive lead has been reported from Chandil, Domuhani, Jamshola and Jaleshwar. Cadmium has exceeded the permissible limit of BIS AT Chandil, Lupungdih, Gopivalbhpur and Jaleshwar.

 

Contamination of Agricultural Produce

Up to about 70 percent of farmers depend on ground water for irrigation in this area. As per the surveys conducted by Central Groundwater Board and the Jharkhand Groundwater Board, a considerable fall in the ground water level, the deep bore wells are supplying chemical water containing high percentage of iron, fluoride and arsenic. A study conducted recently reveals that food grains produced by crops irrigated with such water are containing high percentage of these chemicals. Ground water pollution is intrinsically difficult to detect, since problem may well be concealed below the surface and monitoring is costly, time consuming and somewhat hit-or-miss by nature. 

Studies suggest that even deep bore wells are failing in the state. More than one hundred deep bore wells are being dug in the state. The water level in Godda area of the state has been reported to fall down up to 25 m. The exploitation of ground water has got up to 3o times since last three years. On the other hand about 90 percent facilities of ground water recharge have been stopped completely. The availability of drinking water in the state has reduced to 1200cubic meter from 5200 cubic meter. On an average the fall of ground water level has been recorded to be about 52 feet. In the city area of Ranchi, the water level is reported to have gone deeper up to 13 meters. Under these conditions an acute water crisis is awaiting in this state if correct and sincere measures are not taken up on priority basis. 

Minerals of Jharkhand:-

 Jharkhand is one of the richest areas in the whole country, rich in minerals with huge reserves of coal, iron ore, mica, bauxite and limestone and considerable reserves of copper, chromite, asbestos, kyanite, china clay, fire clay, steatite, uranium, manganese, dolomite, tungsten, gold, etc. The distribution of these minerals is mostly localized. Coal is found in the Gondwana rocks of the Damodar basin. The well known coalfields of the area are Raniganj, Jharia, east and west Bokaro, Ramgarh, and south and north Karanpura. If Damodar valley iS the repository of coal resources, Singhbhum is a veritable museum of non-fuel minerals with huge deposits of iron ore and sizeable deposits of copper, uranium, chromite, asbestos, kyanite, china clay, manganese, etc. The Kolhan series of iron ore in Singhbhum is one of the richest iron belts in the world. The Singhbhum copper-uranium belt contains the largest deposits of copper and uranium in the country today. The world's largest deposit of high grade kyanite occurs at Lapsa Buru in the Singhbhum shear zone. Mica is an important mineral for whose deposits the Jharkhand area leads all countries in the world. The mica belt covering about 3,800 sq km lies in the northern parts of the districts of Hazaribagh and Giridih. Bauxite is found in and around the Pat region in north-west Ranchi district. Thus, Jharkhand area has rich endowments of both metallic and non-metallic minerals. 

Pollution of river water is increasing:-

Further, effluents discharged from mine sites have seriously polluted the streams and underground waters of the area. Acid mine drainage, liquid effluents from coal handling plants, colliery workshops and mine sites and suspended solids from coal washeries have caused serious water pollution in the region, adversely affecting fish and aquatic life. The Damodar River, the major source of water in the region, is perhaps the most polluted river in India. It receives wastes from the many industries situated on its banks. A study of the area showed that a single coal washery was discharging about 40 tonnes of fine coal into the Damodar every day. There are as many as eleven coal washeries in the region with an annual installed capacity of 20.52 million tonnes . Today the Damodar or Damuda, considered a sacred river by the Santal tribals, is quite like a sewage canal shrunken and filled with filth and rubbish, emanating obnoxious odours. Other major rivers of the region are also seriously polluted. The Karo river in west Singhbhum is polluted with red oxide from the iron ore mines of Noamundi, Gua and Chiria. The Subarnarekha shows a different type of pollution, even more hazardous than this. Metallic and dissolved toxic wastes from TISCO, Jamshedpur and HCL, Ghatsila and radioactive wastes from the uranium mill and tailings ponds of the UCIL at Jaduguda flow into Subarnarekha and its tributaries.  

Major Streams of Jharkhand:- 

Sankh and South Koel:- 

The numerous subsidiaries divides radiating from the Palamue-Ranchi uplands give rise to a landscape, when then on a large number of small but youthful independent river basins, the main streams emerging from which either merge to form large more mature river or themselves mature as they reach the plains.

Along the southern slopes are the Sankh and south Koel river system cutting back deeply into the central upland and emerging out and joining to form the Brahmani river. 

Subarnarekha River System:-

The Subarnrekha emerges from the eastern slopes near Nagari( Ranchi upland) and has more or less southeasterly course. Enlarged by several tributaries it directly drains into the way of Bengal, east of Balasore. It is the largest river in Jharkhand.

The Subarnrekha river flows eastwards upto Muri galloping down the Hirni, Dasam, Johna and Hundru falls. It then takes a sharp turn to the south and flows into the gap between the Bhagmundi hills on the east and the Ranchi uplanlds in the west. South of Chandil the river cuts through the Dalma range and turns south east and flows along the valley between the Dama and Dhanjori range towards Baharagora. Here it leaves the state, meanders eastward.

Sapghara, Gurma, Bhagalduba, Dimnajhore, the Garra, Sanjal, the Karkai are tributaries of river Subarnrekha.  

Damodar River system:-

It rises from the eastern slope of the Balumath divides, east of Lateha near a place called Chulhapani in near the boundary of Lohardaga and Latehar districts. Later on the downstream it is being joined by the Bakaro, Kunar, and Jamunia and Barakar rivers in its eastward course. It reaches by and large at mature stage before passing the state boundary.

At Asansole the Damodar turns south east and enters the Bengal alluvial basin. Before the year 1770 the Damodar used to drain into the Hoogly, some 63 km north of Kolkatta. Since 1770 it joins the Hoogly some 65 km south of Kolkatta. This change in the course is characteristic that the river shares with those drainage the Gangetic plains.  

Amanat and Anuranga River systems:-

Emerging from the Western flanks of the Balumath high, north east of Lohardaga are the west flowing Amanat and Auranga rivers which join the noth flowing North Koel and drain into the Sone. The east flowing Damodar and the west flowing Amanat-Auranga system thus separated by the Balumath high drain the east west trending Gondwana coal basins and have a distant ancestry. 

Barakar Ajoy and Mayurakshi Rivers:-

The region between the northern slopes of Hazaribagh plateau and the Kodarma-Rajmahal divides are drain by the Barakar, Ajoy and Mayurakshi rivers which flow to the south east through the Santal Pargana plains. 

Dwaraka, Brahmani, Pagala, Gumani, Chandan and Chira rivers:-

These rivers have originated from Rajmahal plateau. Dwaraka, Brahmini, Pagala and Gumani drain down the Rajmahal plateau towards eastward slop.

The western slopes of the Rajmahal ridge are drained by the Chandan and Chira rivers.

Riparian areas of river basins are shrinking:-

There are no reported assessments of national or regional riparian acreage including Jharkhand, except some individual research done at the university level on the condition of riparian lands. Here our concerns are:-

o The majority of first and second order riparian areas in Jharkhand has been converted to agriculture fields or degraded land.

o There is no comprehensive or methodologically consistent monitoring of trends available in riparian areas.

o Given the profound lack of information on riparian land status and trends, a comprehensive and rigorous assessment of riparian coverage is urgently needed.

o Management guidelines and regulations differ drastically among forest, range, agriculture, residential, and urban lands.

o Jharkhand state should consider designating riparian buffer zones adjacent to water bodies within which certain activities should be excluded.

  

Irrigation Statusof Jharkhand:-

S.N. District Percentage of Irrigated land of  Total Agriculture Land

1. Godda 14.21 2. Dumka 9.47 3. Sahebganj (Pakur) 3.86 4. Deoghar 14.22 5. Dhanbad (Bokaro) 2.08 6. Hazaribagh (Chatra) 10.51 7. Giridih 6.99 8. Palamu (Garhwa) 24.25 9. Ranchi 6.12 10. Lohardagga 8.87

11. Gumla 2.45 12. E.Singhbhum 5.0 13. W. Singhbhum 4.0  

 

Sources of Irrigation at Jharkhand:

Canal 17.53% Pond 19.07% Tubewell (Nal Kup) 8.25% Well 29.38% Others 25.77%  

Animals are worst victim of this Water Scarcity syndrome:-

Mankind knows how to exploit nature and how to cope with anger of nature but animals know how to love Nature/ how to protect it and how to rejuvenate it. But animals are feeling helpless because their Masters (People) are in danger. Animals cannot protest like People and moreover they do not have voting rights. People are more concern to protect themselves than their dependents. Animals of Forest Sanctuaries have started migrating to nearby villages in search of water. To capture the water bodies, fight between Mankind and Animals has started in Jharkhand.   

Clear indication of Climate change: Droughts: Food insecurity and finally starvation deaths:-

Since last five years Jharkhand is facing problems of uneven and inadequate rains. Thus consecutive droughts have become a regular feature of this state. All these factors have aggravated food insecurity and starvation deaths are being reported almost every year. This year there is no chance of rabbi crops and new cereal (paddy) will be harvested (if we have proper monsoon rains and post monsoon rains) in the month November i.e. after nine months. How people of Jharkhand will get two meals during these nine months--- it is a big question/ challenge.

 

And, Finally concerns of treasure bench in Assembly?- 

Jharkhand chief minister Arjun Munda has said that public and private sectors would be roped in to help utilize water of several underground mines in the face of two years of severe drought. "Efforts were being made to bring public and private sectors to help utilise water from mineral areas as water management has become a major challenge

before the government following severe back-to-back drought years," Munda said .Gallons of water is available in several underground coal mines but could not be utilized so far, he said. 

During the ongoing assembly session, the Deputy Chief Minister and Minister, Water and Sanitation – Hemant Soren announced 2 lakh each to all 4423 panchayats of the state for safe drinking water. The State government is expected to invest Rs.89 crores in this project. All these money will be used in drilling of new tube wells or repairing of existing defunct tube wells. During the last President rule in the state , October 2010,the government directed concerned departments to install 20 new tube wells in all panchayat of the state but it never happened.  Let us hope, the announcements made by Hemant Soren will have a better fate than previous projects of Water and Sanitation department of Jharkhand state.   

What need to be done?   

Jharkhand immediately needs to have its own Water Policy. To prevent the over exploitation of water, a bill was drafted by Ministry of Water Resources in 2006 and due to pressures from Industrial lobby, it was not submitted before Cabinet for approval. Considering the growing demand of water, the mounting conflicts in the day to day allocation of available water between its uses, such as irrigation, drinking  and other uses, basin-wise, and finally ,the need for improving the water policy and planning in the state, it is desired necessity that the state should recast the  ‘’ National Water Policy(2002)’’ and formulate ‘’State Water Policy’’ of its own, befitting the framework of the national policy. 

Long term hydrological and agro meteorological data are of utmost importance for realistic, economical and result-oriented project formulation for water resource development. Sufficient hydro meteorological stations should be established in all river basins irrespective of the fact whether any project is coming up in the basin near future or not.

The water resource available to the state should be brought within the category of utilizable resources to the maximum possible extent. The resources should be conserved and their availability augmented by appropriated measures for maximizing retention and minimizing losses.

The water resources development projects should, as far as possible, be planned and developed as multipurpose projects. Provision of drinking water should receive top most priority. Next to come in order of priority would be the conjunctive use of surface and ground water for irrigation, flood mitigation, hydropower generation, navigation, pisciculture and recreation and so on, where ever possible.

The assets, such as river structures and canal systems, created through massive investments, should be maintained properly to derive maximum benefit out of them during their expected life-time. Adequate funds for maintenance of completed projects should be provided in the annual budget and it should be ensured that such assets are properly maintained in good health.

Ground water exploitation should not be allowed to exceed the recharging possibilities. If deemed necessary for ensuring social equality or any other reason, the ground water recharge projects should be developed and implemented for augmenting the available supplies. Over exploitation of ground water should be prevented by appropriate measures, including legislation.

It should be ensured that adequate drinking water facilities are provided to the entire population both in urban and rural areas at the earliest. Whatever there is any alternative source of drinking water, such provision should invariably be made in irrigation and multipurpose projects.

The fertility of land and cost-effective irrigation options feasible from all available sources of water and appropriate irrigation techniques should be duly considered while planning for irrigation from either an individual project or in a basin as a whole. Consistent with the view favouring maximizing of production, the intensity of irrigation shold be planned in such a manner as to extent the benefits to the target possible number of farm families.

The water rates should be fixed in such a manner as to convey the scarcity value of the resources to the users and to foster on their part the motivation for economy in water use. Water rates, in principle, should be adequate to cover the annual maintenance and operation charges together with a part of fixed costs, such an ideal condition would be made effective over a suitable perios, while ensuring adequate and timely supplies of irrigation water in accordance with the adopted crop pattern. Before this ideal condition is achieved, the water rates should be such as to cover at least the maintenance and operation charges of the irrigation system, including their collection charges.

Both surface and ground water should be monitored regularly to improve quality and a phased program should be undertaken for the purpose, as and when necessary. Water quality observations at some suitable sites on the rivers should be undertaken and results correlated with the results of such observations by other organization in the state. Such results  should be incorporated in water year books.

Economic, agriculture, industrial and urban development activities should be planed with due regard to the constraints imposed by the configuration of water availability. The state may be divided into various water zones as considered necessary and the economic activities are guided and regulated in accordance with such zones.

People should be made aware as a scarce resource and the efficiency of utilization in all the diverse uses of water should be tried to improve. Conservation consciousness should be promoted through education, seminars and regulation, incentives and disincentives.

The needs of drought- prone areas should be priority in planning the water resource development project. Such areas should be tried to be made less vulnerable to drought associated through soil-moisture conservation measures, water harvesting practices, minimization of evaporation  losses, development of the ground water potential land transfer of surface water from surplus areas where found feasible and appropriate, other modes of development, such as development of pastures, forestry etc. which consume less water.

Optimum use of water resources within the limits of economic viability calls for steps to investigate alternative options, plans, determine techno- economic feasibility ,develop economic construction materials  and construct selected structures with built in safty, durability and economy in shortest possible time. Research, design and standardization should therefore be given priority they deserve in water sector.

Uses of Polly- bag must be banned. Normally tourists are visiting water bodies with these Polly-bags. These Polly-bags chocked the water bodies’ sources.