Brahmaputra Water Could Solve Water Shortages in Drought Areas of India, Says Nagpur's Engineer
Excess water from the Brahmaputra River could help solve the water problems in drought-prone areas of Peninsular India, including Maharashtra, says Prashant Janbandhu, a retired engineer. Janbandhu, who is studying Water Resources Engineering at Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT) in Nagpur, has been researching how to transfer surplus water from Brahmaputra to other parts of India.
Maharashtra's current irrigation system can only water 126 lakh hectares of land out of the 226 lakh hectares that can be farmed. The rest, especially in areas like Marathwada and Amravati, rely on rainfall. Janbandhu suggests that transferring water from the Brahmaputra could help these areas, as the river's excess water causes flooding in the Northeast, while Peninsular India suffers from water shortages.
Janbandhu has proposed a plan to transfer 5,400 TMC of water per year from the Brahmaputra to drought-affected regions. The water would be lifted at the beginning and then flow by gravity to lower areas.
The plan includes:
- A barrage at Jogighopa on the Brahmaputra to divert water to the Teesta barrage in West Bengal.
- Water would be stored in the Getulsad dam in Jharkhand, from where it could be naturally distributed to other states.
- Two main canals to carry the water:
- South Canal: Serving Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and other states in the south.
- West Canal: Serving states like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Punjab.
This would help provide water to a large number of regions across India.
The project is estimated to cost ₹25 lakh crore, and Janbandhu also suggests using solar panels on the canals to generate electricity, along with hydroelectric power to lift the water.
Janbandhu believes this project could greatly improve water supply, reduce farmers' struggles in Maharashtra, and bring prosperity to drought-prone areas. VNIT is supporting his research, and they plan to set up a Center of Excellence for River Interlinking and Inland Navigation to take the project forward.
