Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
world's population that is concentrated in the
river valleys and deltas, around lakes and in the
coastal areas speaks volumes of utility of aquatic
resources for man. It seems that water is abun-
dant, but usable water is very limited and creates
a serious conservation problem in many places
where it is needed. While plants and animals
living in oceans are called marine resources,
those living in fl owing water like rivers as well as
inland standing water like reservoirs and ponds
are called aquatic resources (fresh water
resources). This chapter highlights the present
scenario of aquatic resources in Udaipur City,
Udaipur being the Kashmir of Rajasthan, Lake
City or Venus of India.
population recorded decline due to natural
calamities, it has otherwise registered a steady
and continuous growth, except that of 1941-1951
when it had the highest growth due to various
reasons of which the post partition being the most
signifi cant. Besides this the growth rate in
Udaipur City had been in accordance with
Udaipur's economic and cultural growth. Udaipur
being an important tourist centre has a fl oating
population of considerable size (Fig.
2.1
).
Though demographically it is a class I city,
functionally it is only a medium-sized regional
city without having any major or metropolitan
function (Bhattacharya
2000
). Till 2011 Udaipur
continues to develop and expand its commercial,
administrative, educational, cultural, recreational
and tourist interests. Thus, this throws light on
the fact that with the rapid increase in population,
the area of city is also increasing.
Methods
This chapter has been prepared with the help of
secondary data collected from various govern-
ment and nongovernment organizations and various
websites. Maps are prepared on Corel Draw.
Aquatic Resources of Udaipur City
Rain water remains reserved in nature in various
forms called water reservoirs. They can be
broadly classifi ed into surface sources and under-
ground sources.
Study Area
Surface Water Sources
Udaipur, famous as 'City of Lakes', includes riv-
ers, lakes and ponds that are surface water
sources, namely, Fateh Sagar, Pichhola Lake,
Swaroop Sagar, Nandeshwar Talab, Badi, Madar,
Choti Madar, Ayad river, etc. Figure
2.2
gives a
clear picture of all the surface water sources of
Udaipur City (Babel and Gupta
1994
). Besides
these, there were 121 baovries of which 83 have
dried up.
Site
Udaipur City is located in the southern part
of Rajasthan. It is actually lying in the centre of a
bowl-shaped basin surrounded by the Aravalli
hills and is drained by the Ayad river.
Location
Its latitudinal location is from 23° 9
′
to
25° 28
′
N and longitudinal extension is from 73°
1
E. Its geographical region is
12,499 km
2
and is about 577 m above sea level.
Udaipur evolved as a result of a decline in
political power. The decision to site the new
capital was favoured by a number of factors
including having the temple of Eklingji close by,
its isolated position caused by a hilly and forest-
covered terrain, availability of water in abundance
and the area having a quality of defence, to name
a few. The increase in the municipal area of the
town was primarily in response to the increase in
population. Except for the two consecutive
decades, 1891-1901 and 1901-1911, when the
′
to 75° 49
′
Ayad
Berach the main tributary of river Banas rises
originates from the Girwa ranges of Aravalli situ-
ated to the north of Udaipur City. It is called Ayad
river from its fountainhead through Bedla up to
Udai Sagar Lake, in which it falls. It is the princi-
pal river of the Udaipur basin. Beyond Udai
Sagar up to Dabok village, the river passes
through a distance of about 75.5 km and is named
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