Dear Kalyan:


>Manas is in Arunachalpradesh. It is also the name of a region. See
>Manas wildlife santuary
>http://indiandestinations.tripod.com/assam.html



*** I find the above assertions quite amusing - because it is so absurd.


But as I said earlier I don't blame you for it, just your faith on a website's
( http://indiandestinations.tripod.com/assam.html ) info. which,
incidentally had some rather curious info. about Assamese social customs
that generated outrage in Assam Net recently.I forget what that was--maybe
an Assam Netter can point that out.


I have an advantage over you on this matter, because I am from the region
and it is easy for me to spot a glaring misinformation. That is exactly why
I don't find most of your and/or Suresh Prabhu's assertions as relates to
the Assam/Brahmaputra/Manas river issues credible. These are based NOT on
facts, but on hearsay, speculation, half-truths and last but not the least,
just plain ignorance. There are also elements of "ashwthama
hoto--iti-gozoh", even though I won't suggest that the report you compiled
on  http://www.hindunet.org/saraswati/riverlinks04.doc was designed to
mislead. It is just too wishful.

I guess I will have to draw a map and explain things here. I realized that
it is essential, some time ago. But since I am somewhat occupied with
earning a living and don't have a website where I can post drawings, maps
and diagrams right away, it will have to wait for a few days. An Assam Net
friend has agreed to make a website available for me to help people like
yourself out a bit.

In the meantime, you might consider visiting :

http://mappoint.msn.com/(o3v2noaxsvtobcz3rv14njvf)/map.aspx?C=25,-40&A=30000&L=W
LD0409&TI=World

where you can zoom into the Manas river valley in western Assam that will
show you exactly where the Manas river lies, along with its tributaries.
And while you are at it, do check out the neighborhood. Hopefully it will
arouse some curiosity on HOW the river-linking genius' might dig a canal to
link a reservoir of the Manas river to the Kosi in Bihar.


For those who can't visit the map website, there are a couple of the Manas'
many tributaries which do fork out eastwards into the extreme west end of
the panhandle of Arunachal that jut into Bhutan. If THAT could be DESCRIBED
as 'draining' Arunachal, that is taking extreme liberites with semantics at
best, leaving room for many other less enviable possibilities of
characterization.

If websites like
>Manas river also drains Bhutan and Arunachalpradesh.
>http://edugreen.teri.res.in/explore/life/eastern.htm

is what YOU or the NWDA or the riverlinking genius' are depending on for
preparing FEASIBILITY STUDIES, heaven help us all.

If we follow the logic, we can characterize the river Brahmaputra as
draining China and India too. Would'nt at all be untrue. Would it?




The website
http://indiandestinations.tripod.com/assam.html 's description of the Manas
river forming the border between Assam and Bhutan is yet another example of
glaring ignorance and misinformation. The Manas and its tributaries
,generally run from north to south. The border between Assam and Bhutan
where the Manas Tiger Reserve lies, runs east to west.

You go figure therefore how the Manas forms the border.Talk about
geographically challenged 'experts'.



Unfortunately the http://www.hindunet.org/saraswati/riverlinks04.doc link
did not work. I just hope I did not miss out on anything important.




Now about the waterflows on the Brahmaputra and the Ganga in February/March:

I saw the tables in your article. I have no way to verify the numbers, so I
will accept them as ACCURATE. But what does that tell us? What can we
interpret from the data?


        * The volume of water measured in cubic meters flowing per second
        ( I am guessing that is what 'cusec' is) is far greater for the

        Brahmaputra than the Ganga


        Fine! But let us not forget that the Brahmaputra(B)is a much wider
        river than the Ganga (G). It DOES carry far more volume than the Ganga
        even, when Assam and the B valley is in drought.

        I happen to know what a delayed onset of the Monsoon does to
        rural Assam. I grew up there. We had a pond that held water even
        when most others dries out. People from miles around came with
        assorted pots and pans to get a little muddy water from our
        pond, because there was no other source of drinking water around.
        And that was not that far back in history--merely a decade ago.
        Fortunately there are a few tube wells are there in the villages
        now, but the water is only borderline potable due to high iron content.

        Now would you tell me that my people's priority ought to be to let the
        B be dammed ( no pun intended), so that TN can get some water for
        irrigation, while they don't even have drinking water ?

        PRIORITIES! Think about it Kalyan.


I have not gotten to the riverlinkers' proposition of taking water out of
the B by damming it yet, only because it is so preposterous an idea.
Damming the Manas is NOT nearly as far fetched, that is why I have
postponed looking into the B damming mirage. But keep your eyes peeled. It
is coming :-).



Best,


Chandan
















At 4:45 AM +0000 9/4/03, S.Kalyanaraman wrote:
>--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>>      For starters, the Manas is NOT in Arunachal. It comes down
>from Bhutan,>          into WESTERN Assam, seven eights of the way west
>from the easterly>     boundaries of the Brahmaputra valley, just a
>short distance away from>      the Bangladesh borders.
>>
>>      It is an important detail, because EVEN if you brought the
>entire Manas>  and its feeder tributaries under complete control,
>you still have done>   little to put a dent into the MAIN aspects
>of the Assam floods, which>         happen farther to the east.
>
>I am sorry, there is a massive mix-up of names. So, let us get our
>facts ok. We can argue about questioning or believing.
>
>Manas is in Arunachalpradesh. It is also the name of a region. See
>Manas wildlife santuary
>http://indiandestinations.tripod.com/assam.html
>See the map on Page 22 for the Brahmaputra links (7 of them before
>reaching Ganga east of Patna) of
>http://www.hindunet.org/saraswati/riverlinks04.doc
>
>Manas river also drains Bhutan and Arunachalpradesh.
>http://edugreen.teri.res.in/explore/life/eastern.htm
>
>I will certainly respect a work done by 200 engineers for 20 years
>in NWDA. If we don't trust our engineers, who else will we trust?
>After all, they have done a magnificent job for Bharat increasing
>the command area of irrigation from 22.5 mha to 90 mha between 1951
>and 2001, a magnificent achievement of Blue revolution, which made
>the Green Revolution possible increasing foodgrain production from
>60 m.t. to 200 m. tonnes during the same period. No mean
>achievement, by any world standards. We can do better is what both
>of us are saying.
>
>Kalyan
>
>
>
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