Geog 201 - World Regions online Course

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GEOG201: World Regions Online Course

Chapter 12: South Asia

Instructions: Watch the video entitled "Water Shortages in India." Write a 1-2 page essay in which you respond to the questions posed below. You can use content from the video clip, the textbook, and the PowerPoint lecture to respond to these questions in your essay. Please don't just copy the audio from the video clip! Double space your essay. (Note that these instructions and the questions use 1/3 of this page, so your essay should continue onto the next page.) This assignment is worth 10 points. Eight points will be based on how well you respond to the questions posed, and two points will be based on the quality of your writing. Please be sure to proof read your essay!

Essay Questions: (Note: The first minute of the video is about the city of New Delhi, whereas the last three minutes of the video is about the state of Rajasthan. I would like you to focus on the Rajasthan portion of the video when answering your questions.) What types of climate does northwestern India have near the Pakistan border (see Fig. 12.8 in your textbook)? What environmental problems result from the overuse of water in these types of climate (see the textbook or PowerPoint lecture)? How has the government responded to the water crisis in northwestern India? In the Alwar district in the state of Rajasthan, how have villagers rejuvenated their water supply without government help? How has this success improved villagers' lives? Do you think India's federal government should provide funding to support villagers' efforts in other parts of Rajasthan, or continue with its own plans to solve the problem? Explain your answer.

Northwestern India ranging into Pakistan has very dry and humid conditions. It's an area where very little grows and life can be extremely difficult. An environmental issue that can result from the overuse of water in farming related situations is salinization. Salinization is a buildup of salts that stems from farmers irrigating their fields over a long period of time. This environmental issue causes reduced crop yields and can lead to the starvation of the people and overall poor living conditions.

In the Alwar district villagers build earthen dams using only rubble and stone. The villagers then made pits and laid them with stone earth and clay, which stops rain water from seeping away. This raises the ground water level, with each additional rain shower the village's water table would raise. Eventually they were able to build wells for drinking purposes as well as provide additional water for field irrigation. The success of this natural dam system has led villagers to have not only clean drinking water but food to eat and the ability to be self sustaining. They are