IN THE LIGHT OF RECENT FLOODS ACROSS VARIOUS PARTS OF THE COUNTRY, INTERLINKING OF RIVERS PROJECT ACT AS BOTH RESCUER AND DEVASTATOR. CRITICALLY ANALYSE?

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          Aiming to balance uneven water flow in different river basins is a welcome step. Government Jal Manthan at the strategic level endeavor to have optimistic outcome for river linking project
River linking projects for the country are a great challenge
1. Massive displacement of people
2. Entire ecosystem and flora and fauna, the wetlands are linked to the river system.
3. State can hinder due political and administrative reasons.
4. Himalayan Rivers are cross-border in nature any changes made by India will met with stiff resistance from the neighbouring countries
River linking projects an opportunity

Pros
1. Uneven water flow in different river basins will get balanced. Hence very less flood can be expected
2. Around 65% of the flow in the rivers is untapped and goes to sea every year
3. River interlinking project claims to generate total power of 34 GW
4. Ground water Recharging.
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Cons
1. Huge financial burdens.
2. Ecological balance of land and oceans, freshwater and sea water, also gets disrupted
3. Collecting huge water can cause earthquake, called Reservoir Induced Seismicity. For example, Panchesvaram dam
4. If India has reservations when China builds dams then Bangladesh will also have reservations with India when India goes to build a dam
Other alternatives:
1. Small scale conservation by practices of water conservation
2. Scientific management of water conservation coupled with traditional management systems.

          Though it has its own negatives, it can be addressed with proper planning and management. So, the need of hour is not just a single approach but multiple way of addressing the problem of floods in India.
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