Ms. Shweta Kannan will present her APS as per the detail below:

Date: 28 February 2023

Time: 1400 - 1530 hrs.

Venue: Conference Room No.1

Title: Site suitability assessment of Check dams: Case study of Nashik

Guide: Prof Pennan Chinnasamy

RPC Members: Prof Chaaruchandra Korde, Prof Swaathy Manohar

Abstract:    Water shortage issues is rampant in most arid and semi-arid regions of India. Since this affects both domestic and agricultural sectors, the families living in these areas are prone to lower crop yield and lower water availability for domestic use leading to distress migration. For centuries, people all around the world have built and utilized check dams for flood mitigation, water supply improvement, agricultural land expansion, and watershed restoration. In order to recharge the groundwater table and to increase the irrigation potential of the locality, the harvest of rainwater by constructing check dams is an immediate and cost-effective solution that mitigates the effects of the drought and enables durable water conservation. Other than providing water to farmers in summers, they act as source of water for wildlife too.

Governments at all levels - National, state and local, have engaged in basin-scale erosion-control projects that may include both the repair of existing chheck dams and the construction of new checks. The State government of Karnataka is promoting the construction of Multi arched Check dams (MACD) under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) programme which ensures better utilization of funds, scientific construction, and increased efficiency in water harvesting. The cost of construction of multi arched checks is around 25% less than Reinforced Cement Concrete check dams and also last longer than traditional stone masonry ones. Despite the fact that the number of check dams built across the country to manage floods, restrict sediment transport, lower upstream reach slopes, and stabilise torrent beds is increasing, some projects have had poor results, and hence intended outcomes are not met. Reasons for failure include poor building quality, insufficient check dam position, and a lack of suitable design requirements. Hence there is a need for a systematic and detailed study of check dams and the criteria for site suitability. 

Based on a survey of literature, including conceptual understanding, field observations, and numerical approaches, this research will produce a complete synthesis of the effects of check dams. With the gaps in knowledge identified as a starting point, this research will be an attempt to consolidate and disseminate academic and technical knowledge based on the impacts of check dams in the study area, Nashik, along with a formulation of methodology and guidelines for site suitability. The study will also investigate materials that are green and cost-effective for the constructing sustainable check dams.