Indian Desert Geography PDF

# 2.1.5 The Indian Desert ## Introduction - The Thar Desert is an arid region with no forest cover. - *Khejri* is an important local tree that is useful for both humans and animals. - The Rajasthan Canal (Indira Gandhi Canal) is one of India's biggest irrigation projects. - The Indira Gandhi Canal...

# 2.1.5 The Indian Desert ## Introduction - The Thar Desert is an arid region with no forest cover. - *Khejri* is an important local tree that is useful for both humans and animals. - The Rajasthan Canal (Indira Gandhi Canal) is one of India's biggest irrigation projects. - The Indira Gandhi Canal starts from the Harike barrage in Sultanpur, Sri Ganganagar district. - The canal was constructed in 1985, and carries water to sandy regions of Rajasthan. - The canal has brought many beneficial changes to the region, but has also raised numerous problems. ## Resources and Economy - The Thar Desert is the most densely populated among all the world's deserts. - Traditional handicrafts of the region, like tie-and-dye fabrics, lac bangles, stitching and dyeing of clothes etc are widely known. - Most people earn their livelihood from farming and animal husbandry. - Thar has a large wool-producing region, Bikaner is Asia’s largest wool market. ## A Village in the Thar Desert - Jaisalmer is located in the west of Rajasthan. - Luna is a village 90 km from Jaisalmer. - The climate is extremely dry, with occasional sand storms. - There are no permanent water sources but *khejri* trees. - The village has about 200 houses and is the largest village in the region. ## Water conservation and management - Water is the most precious resource in the desert. - People protect water more than their lives. - The clouds arrive in July, August and September but float away without bringing rain. - People depend upon rainwater harvesting, and water is piped 45km from Keriya village to Dhabri village. - Most people earn their livelihood by manual labour or animal husbandry. - Milk and ghee are used only for household purposes. - Cows and camels graze on their own, but sheep and goats have to be tended. - Water is a natural resource that is necessary for humans but for plants and animals. - In today's industrial and economic environment, water is becoming crucial to conserve. - Water conservation and management are necessary to combat population explosion and irrigated agriculture. ## Traditional water conservation methods - Since ancient times, lakes, ponds, tanks, wells etc have been built by the combined efforts of the state and the public to alleviate the problem of water scarcity. - Today, traditional water conservation methods can help us face the challenges of growing population and dwindling water resources. ## Traditional water storage methods - *Tanka* is a traditional water storage method of the Thar region. - Tankas are small underground wells into which rainwater from the rooftops of buildings and other locations are constructed to collect water. - Many houses in desert cities like Barmer, Jaisalmer and Bikaner have tankas. - March 22 is celebrated every year as Water Conservation Day. - Many techniques are being adopted in view of the growing water crisis in modern societies. - Roof-top rainwater harvesting is a recently developed method that is especially useful in low rainfall regions.