Water Crisis in the Indian Subcontinent

Water Crisis in the Indian Subcontinent 

ed. by Zahid Husain & L. Cajee (North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong)

ISBN No.: 9789380574257

Pages: xliv+503p


Edition: 2012 (Hardback) 

Price: Rs 1595.00

About the Book

Undoubtedly, water is the most vital resource, but there are numerous water crises/problems affecting man. The foremost problem is shortage of adequate and safe domestic water in many parts of the world, including the Indian Subcontinent. The Indian Subcontinent is land of contrast in terms of hydrological regime. Unfortunately, water crisis has worsened over the years, threatening the existence of man, plants and animals. Water problems of the Indian Subcontinent are related with water excess, water shortage, water pollution, over-exploitation of ground water, lowering of water table in most of the aquifers, depleting sources of surface water, encroachment on water bodies, chocking of the natural and artificial channels, urban floods, retreating glaciers and snow fields, erratic rainfall, salinity, water logging, water borne diseases, water ownership, conflicts on sharing of water, submergence of land under reservoirs, displacement of the people due to construction of dams, high arsenic and fluoride contents in the ground water, water conservation and so on. Some of these problems are dealt with in the Book, which will be valuable for the water managers, technocrats, planners, NGOs and people of the Indian Subcontinent.

About the Author

Zahid Husain Qureshi (b. 1952), M.A., Ph.D. in Geography (Udaipur) is Professor in the Department of Geography, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong. Since April 1997, he has been engaged in teaching and research in physical geography in the Department. He specialises in geomorphology, ecology, environment and remote sensing. Earlier he worked in a UNESCO project during 1975, and in 1976 joined the Geomorphology and Photogrammetry Section, CAZRI (ICAR), Jodhpur where he received further training in geomorphology and remote sensing to carry out research on desertification and identification of the prior/buried courses of the Saraswati River in the Thar Desert. For one year he did research along with a team on palaeo-environment and archaeology of the Thar Desert while working in a UGC project of the Poona University at Deccan College, Pune. From October 1979 to March 1997, he carried out research in human ecology of Northeast India while working in ASI, Shillong. Up till now he has been involved in completion of 11 research projects, and in publishing 40 papers in reputed journals and books. He has authored a book entitled Geoecology of Kameng Himalaya (2002), and his edited books are Environmental Degradation and Conservation in Northeast India (1996), Environmental Issues of Northeast India (2003), and Development and Environment (2004). 

Laitpharlang Cajee (b. 1967) is an Associate Professor of the Department of Geography, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong. He completed his Msc., M. Phil., Ph. D. from the same university and joined as a Lecturer in March, 1997. Since then he has been engaged in teaching and research in physical and developmental geography. He specialises in geomorphology, bio-geography, bio-diversity and tourism geography and has been associated with a number of projects and International collaboration with DPRI, Kyoto University on Climate Change in South Asia which is still on-going. He was an International Visitor to the United States in the year 2005 under the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) for Environmental Education in the 21st Century. During his visits to Japan (2006, 2008), he delivered a number of lectures in Kyoto University, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Kochi University and University of Takamatsu, Japan, has been a member in the NCERT Textbook Committee for preparation of Geography books. He edited the Proceedings of the Workshop on Application of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System in Natural Resource Mapping, Analysis and Management (March 2000), has been the Co-Investigator on a project Community Forest Management in Khasi Hills - A case study of a few community and clan managed forests (May 2003) and also co-authored a booklet on Natural Resources for Environment Orientation in the Schools of North-East India published by Assam Science Society in the year 2005.