Nature provides us mainly four sources of water, which includes rain water, water from rivers and streams, water from lakes and nature’s reservoirs and ground water. The major resource is rain water. We are not technologically well off to have the maximum benefit of rain water. Especially, in Odisha annually we get on an average 200 cm of rainfall, which differs due to fast changing of local as well as general climate. So, sustainable management of natural water resources is most important for sustainable living. The sustainable management of water resources means sustainable management of natural water resources like rivers, lakes, springs, lagoons, waterfalls etc besides ensuring appropriate soil moisture ratio in different soil profiles of geomorphology. The soil moisture ratio as well as the PH value of a particular soil always depends on the adequacy of water supply. The plant community as well as the animal community of a region can only exist on the adequate supply of water.
Given the above factors, the preferential utility of water is always demanded on the following conditions. (1) When water is the major life sustaining requirement, priority has to be given to supply of drinking water for all types of living creatures. (2) The requirement of agriculture needs to be given importance. Without agriculture, no sustainable living of man in general can be expected. So, irrespective of political limits, enough water must be earmarked for farming. The river or any water body within its usual course and movement should not be restricted with in a particular political jurisdiction as is done with regard to Caveri and Mahanadi. How can people of a particular political boundary and jurisdiction claim ownership over a river system like Bhagirathi of China and India and Indus of India and PakistanIJ How can also ownership be claimed over life support system like air and waterIJ The whole ecological balance of nature will be upset leading to ecological disaster if there would be any political partition of river system.
Each and every river system itself is an ecological hub and combination of such hubs controls the general climate of the regime. The third priority is to be given to soil moisture relationship of every unit of area all over the geo-morphological regime. The natural water resources like lakes, lagoons, streams, springs, fountains in general maintain and up-keep the soil-moisture co-efficiencies in all types of soil profile, which is needed for sustainable maintenance of ecological systems of all kinds. All the principal rivers of Odisha are interState rivers such as Mahanadi, Brahmani and Subarnarekha and two minor rivers like Baitarani and Budhabalanga have originated from eastern slopes of Eastern Ghat and are streamed down to the Bay of Bengal through coastal plains of Mayurbhanja, Baleswar and Bhadrakh districts. Similarly, other rivers originating from Eastern Ghat are BahudaVansudhara, Nagavali, Sileru, Sabari, Potaru, Indravati including several rivulets. Although for name sake they have started from southern hilly region of the State, their water resources do not come to much of utility there as they travel major distances in the State of Odisha. There is another prominent river called Rushikulya, which originates from Eastern Ghat and travels major distances within Ganjam district before joining the Bay of Bengal. If the Eastern Ghat is taken as the heart of Odisha, the tributaries of Mahanadi originating from Eastern Ghat are taken as arteries of the river.
Similarly, the distributaries and sub-distributaries of Mahanadi are taken as veins of the State. There are small to big tributaries and sub-tributaries of Mahanadi. Of its 48 tributaries, 13 main arterial channels come within the political boundaries of Chhattisgarh. The Chhattisgarh Government wants to paralyze these arterial systems of Mahanadi by diverting water for industrial reasons. The utilization of natural water resources for industrial purposes ought to be the last preference. Mahanadi has 22 small to big branches and branch lets, which are known as distributaries or the veins. Each distributary and sub-distributary is responsible for sustainable maintenance of ecological system it possesses. Individually, if the main arterial tributaries of Chhattisgarh do not supply water to the mainstream of Mahanadi, what would be the fate of the distributaries and the sub-distributaries of the river is a foregone conclusion. The distribution of water for both States should be done very efficiently and fairly. Similarly, the tributaries and sub-tributaries of the river in Odisha and Chhattisgarh should be brought under efficient watershed management to harvest every drop of rain for socio-economic development of the both the States. (The writer is a former senior forest officer and an environmentalist. Tel no 9937460649)