Study on national river water grid in final stages

Chennai, Feb 22 (UNI) Finishing touches to the project of the Indian River Grid (IRG) for impounding and distribution of one-third of surplus flood water escaping to sea, was given here by Permanent Resolution of Water Disputes in India (WEDO).

WEDO, an NGO with a team of professionls, has proposed the IRG, an ambitious mega project, to trap and utilise 500 cubic km, which was one third of the surplus flood waters flowing as waste into the seas every year.

Talking to newspersons here, WEDO director K V Rupchand said IRG was truly a multi-purpose project with an integrated approach as enunciated in the third 'World Water Forum in Kyoto - Japan'.

''IRG will be the largest infrastructure project ever conceived by mankind'', he claimed.

Mr Rupchand said the project would meet all the water needs of the country (drinking, agricultural and industrial) up to year 2050, when the population of India was expected to stabilise at 1.6 billion.

Explaining the IRG project, He said three level canals 100 meter (wider depending on site conditions) 10m depth would be formed to trap 'one-third' of the surplus flood flow in the river and tributaries, which otherwise go waste into the sea.

Northern Waterway (NW) would be from Kashmir to Assom, he said adding Vidhyan Waterway (VW) will be gridling the Vindhays and Deccan Waterway (DW) will be around the Deccan plateau.

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