It is universally acknowledged that rivers are the crucibles of civilization. From time immemorial, settlements have sprung up alongside rivers owing to the easy availability of water and associated means of sustenance. Over time these settlements metamorphosized into the towns and cities we see today.
With the passage of time, especially after the advent of the industrial era, the association of the riverside communities with the rivers has undergone a perceptible transformation. Urbanization has resulted in a change in the nature of dependence on the rivers. It has become indirect. This has diminished the value of rivers among the denizens of the cities.
How so? Consider this: Now river water is stored in reservoirs, hundreds of miles upstream of the cities, behind massive dams. The water head is utilized for the generation of electricity and then water is channelized for consumption by the cities downstream in addition to meeting the water needs of the farms in the hinterland all year-round. This has freed up the riverbed and floodplains, especially in cities, for encroachments, real estate development, sand mining, etc. The stretch of the rivers adjunct to the cities have become convenient receptacles for the wastewater generated by the cities in the form of sewage and industrial effluents. Read More
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