17 the thar desert

8/12/2019 17 the Thar Desert

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The Thar DesertIf you have water, you have everything else. And if you dont have water, what do you do?

Lets look at one of the driest parts of our country.This is the Thar Desert in western Rajasthan.Throughout the whole year it gets very littlerainfall.

The Luni is the only big river to flow in the westernpart of Rajasthan. And even in the Luni, water doesnot flow throughout the year. However, in the largeregion northwest of the Luni there is not a singleriver to be seen.

CHAPTER 17

Delhi

Jaipur

Ajmer

Udaipur

Jodhpur

Bikaner

Jaisalmer

Barmer

Ganganagar

Chandigarh

Bhopal

L u n i R .

S a b

a r m a t i

R

.

M a h i

R .

B a n a

s R .

C h a m

b a l

R .

Y a m u n a

R .

I n d u

s R .

S u t l e

j R.

A r

a v

a l l i

H i l

l s

T H

A R

D

E S

E R

T

P A K I S T A N

R a j a s t h a n

G u j a r a tM . P .

H a r y a n a

P u n j a b

If an area has no rivers, what does this imply? Why doesnt i t have rivers? What k ind of place must it be?

Is the capital of Rajasthan located in the Thar Desert?

In the part of Rajasthan to the east of the Aravalli Hills, there are many smal l rivers. What are their names?

Find t he Thar Desert (shaded grey) in this map.

In which countries and states is the Thar Desert located?

From which hills does the Luni River begin?


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Look at t he annual rainfall m ap and tell how much it rains in each of the following areas:

The area to the east of the Aravalli hills The Aravalli Hills and the area to their west The extreme west of Rajasthan For comparison, tell how much it rains where

you live.

Using t he graphs on the right , estimat e how much is the annual rainfall in Jaipur and Jaisalmer and see if th is agrees wit h what is given on t he annual rainfall map.

When is the monsoon in Jaipur and Jaisalmer?

Not only does it rain very little in the Thar Desert,but it also happens that sometimes many yearspass without a single drop of rain. After manyyears, it may suddenly rain very heavily, leadingto flash floods in dry rivers and nallahs. But thiswater dries up before long. There is never enoughwater to enable rivers and nallahs to flow for along distance.

Rainfall and Temperature

Look at the map showing annual rainfall in India.You will find that as you go from the east to thewest in Rajasthan, the rainfall decreases. This isalso shown in the two rainfall graphs here.

Look at the graph on t he right. Which are the hot test and coldest months in Jaisalmer and how hot and cold do they usually get?

Are the hot test and rainiest periods in Jaisalmer at t he same time of the year?

Does it get much cooler during the monsoon than

during the summer in Jaisalmer? Why is it usually cooler in August than in May?

VegetationBecause of the absence of water, one can go for many kilometreswithout seeing a single tree in the desert. But in most areasthere are many kinds of small thorny bushes and grasses. Andhere and there you might be able to spot a khejdi ( Ko jaDI) tree.

Rainfall in Jaipur250

200

150

100

50

0J F M A M J J A S O N D

Month

T o t a

l

R a

i n

f a

l l

( m m

)

Rainfall in Jaisalmer100

50

0J F M A M J J A S O N D

Month T o t a

l R a

i n

f a

l l

( m m

)

Average Maximum and Minimum Temperatures in Jaisalmer

J F M A M J J A S O N D

Month

A v e r a g e

T e m p e r a t u r

e

( C

)

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0


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Livingin theDesertIn many Indian languages, the word fordesert is marusthal literally meaning, aplace of death. This is because the lack of water can kill people, animals and plants.During times of severe drought, people andanimals may have to face death if they donot migrate.

Come, let s f indout how people liv ein such a dr y place.

Look at a map to find out whether the population is denser in t he eastern o r western par t of Rajasthan. Explain why the density differs.

In Jaisalmer Tehsil, half the villages are very small,with less than 500 people living in each one. Thevillages are also sparsely scattered across dryregions.

Sheep and Goat RearingVillagers in the Thar rear a large number of sheepand goats and sell them for their meat. Their woolis also collected and sold. During the monsoon,even with a little bit of rain, quite a bit of grasssprings up in the desert. Especially sevan grass,which is very good fodder for the animals. Duringthe times when water is scarce they also eat thornybushes and leafy branches from khejdi trees.

In big cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Jaipur,the demand for meat is always increasing. Theanimal-hides are also used for leather, which isone of our countrys most important exports. Indiahas the highest total number of cattle, buffaloes,sheep, goats, and pigs of all the countries in theworld. Rajasthan and West Bengal produce the

most sheep and goats in India. Animal rearing thusremains an important occupation for the peopleof the desert.

Grazing sheep in Rajasthan


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THE THAR DESERT 197

Bajra is ready to harvest three months after it is planted. Look at the graph on page 195 and tell

when bajra would be harvested in t he area around Jaisalmer.

During the monsoon people have to make specialarrangements to collect rainwater. There will beno other source of water for the rest of the year.

In many houses there are pucca tanks in the middleof the courtyard, to collect rainwater. The rainthat falls on the roof of the house is drained straightinto the tank. Then, for months this water is usedwith great care and economy for both thehousehold and the animals. In many places peoplesit on a charpai to have a bath and the bath wateris collected in a vessel placed directly below thecharpai. I t is used in cleaning the house, and givento the animals to drink. People scrub their utensilswith dry sand to clean them - not just to cleanthem, but to make them shine!

Rainwater also collects in ditches and ponds inthe desert. From these small ponds, waterseeps into the sand. In order that this seepingwater may not be lost, people dig small wells(called kuian or berian) that are 25-30 feetdeep, all around the pond. Water seeping fromthe pond collects in these small wells. Monthslater, after the water in the ponds has vanished,people can get water from these wells.

Where there are no natural ponds or ditches,people may dig pucca tanks on the lower endof slopes so that the rainwater from all aroundwill collect there.

These arrangements for collecting and storingrainwater are very important because normally inthe desert, ground water is found only very deepunderground. Thus, it is difficult to get water fromwells. Even very deep wells may dry up at times.Also, in some areas well water is saline.

Many villagers have to go many kilometres to getwater. In some places women and children haveto walk for miles with pots on their heads. In otherplaces water is carried on donkeys or camels.

CropsDue to the shortage of water very few crops aregrown in the Thar Desert. If people somehow orother manage to get a single crop in a year, theyconsider themselves lucky. In some parts of theThar, bajra can be sown in the rainy season. It isone crop that can grow in sandy soil without toomuch water.

After bajra is harvested,the fields lie fallow till thenext rains. With just onesmall bajra crop, it iscertainly not possible fora family to manage for the

whol e year! H ence,people depend a lot onsheep and goat rearing.

Rainwater Harvesting

Getting water from a well

What i s meant by rainwater harvesting? Can rainwater be harvested like crops are harvested?

You read abou t the arran gements made for saving water in the desert. How do people save water in your area?


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CamelsCamels are very well suited to live in deserts. Theycan go for many days without drinking water,especially if they get some fresh grass or other greenleaves to eat. They are also good at resisting heat.

People need to keep their bodies at a constanttemperature all the time. When people get hot, theysweat in order to cool their bodies by evaporation.Thus in hot weather you need to drink more waterin order to replenish what you loose through sweat.

But camels can function at a wide range of bodytemperatures. Their bodies can go below normal atnight and then rise by 6 or 7C during the day. Thus,they dont need to sweat so much. They also dont

loose too much water through urination (their urineis highly concentrated). They can survive even whena lack of water causes them to loose as much as 30%of their body weight. (A person would be on the vergeof death after loosing only 10% of their weight dueto water loss.)

When camels find water, they can drink as much as100 litres and they can drink all that in as little as 7or 8 minutes!

What do they do with so much water? It getscombined with other substances from their fodderto make fat. Much of this fat is stored in their humps.That way the fat also serves as a good insulation fromthe heat of the sun. As needed, the fat gets brokendown to supply the camels with energy and water.

Another thing that makes camels well suited to thedesert is their feet. Have you ever tried to run in softsand?Its difficult because your feet sink deep intothe sand at every step. Camels have wide, paddedhooves that do not sink too deep in the sand. This,combined with their long legs allows them to movequite fast across the sand. Good camels can walk upto16 kilometres in an hour on sand.

M igratingShepherdsAfter the bajra is cut, its stalks are left standingin the fields so that sheep can graze on them.By the end of November the sheep have gottenfat on sevan grass and bajra stalks. They havealso grown a lot of wool, especially in years whenthe monsoon is good.

So everyone gathers their sheep together andgets them sheared. The sheep are washed beforeshearing and if any thorns are stuck to their woolthey are carefully removed. What a lot of work!Still, it is worth the trouble because well-cleanedwool fetches a better price from the traders whogo from village to village buying up the wool.

Soon the fodder around the village begins toget scarce. There is not enough vegetation toallow many sheep and goats to graze all yearround. What will the animals eat during thewinter and the summer? The shepherds getready to migrate in search of fodder. Migrationis an old tradition and the shepherds have fixedroutes where they know they will be able tofind fodder as they travel from place to place.The map on the next page shows the states thatsurround Rajasthan. The arrows show the usualmigration routes used by the shepherds of Jaisalmer and Bikaner.

Experiment: Why dont camelshooves sink deep into sand?

Make two models of camels one with smallpointed feet, and the other with large, flat feet.

The models don t have to look exactly likecamels they could look like the ones shownhere. Put them on soft, dry sand and see whichone sinks in further. (Make sure both models arethe same weight.) Then write down what youdid, what happened, and why you you think ithappened the way it did.

Sevan grass


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Which areas of dif ferent states do sheep herders visit? Look at the map on the right and tell.

Why is sheep fodder available for the sheep in these places? How are these areas different from the Thar?

Come, le ts join a group o f abou t 50shepherds from t wo villages in

Jaisalmer

Tehsil, and see wha t happens as the y migra te

from place to place, herding sheep.

A J ourney withSome Shepherds

sheep are not going out this year. They will roamover nearby places to graze their sheep.

After many days of preparation, everything hasbeen loaded onto camels and we are ready tobegin our long journey. We set off on foot, herdingthe sheep along as we go. Although the sheepare healthy, they are looking thin only becausethey were just sheared. They are quite a sightto see - moving along in a huge herd spreadacross the land.

In some parts of Rajasthan people only take theiranimals out if there is a severe drought. But inour villages, we go every year. One or two personsfrom almost all the households of both villagesare leaving with their sheep and goats. Most of us are men, but a fewwomen and children arealso coming. Most of the women, children andelderly people are staying at home.

We are leaving with 6,000 sheep and 22 camels.Some families might have 70-80 sheep, othersmay have 100-200 sheep and some even have

300 sheep. Those families who have only 40-50

Firozpur Ludhiana

Ganganagar Chandigarh

RohtakSirsa

MathuraAgra

Barmer Pali

Tonk

Bundi

Ujjain

Dabhoi

PalanpurKandla

GurgaonBikaner

Jaisalmer

Delhi


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200 THE THAR DESERT

Winter Days

The areas to the east getmore rain, so thats wherewere going. As we go along,we start seeing more grassand more trees of khejdi andbabool. We cut smallbranches from these treesto feed the sheep.

After each days walk, whenevening descends, we pitchcamp on a field or anywherein the open. Its getting coldnow. We unload everythingfrom the camels andprepare our food. After a long days walk, wereall hungry. We light the cooking fires, using somewood we have collected along the way. We makedal and rotis of bajra, and eat them with chilliesand onions. Then we settle down in our quiltsfor a nights sleep.

On getting up in the morning we have tea madewith sheeps milk, and then again we have rotisof bajra. After finishing our morning meal, wepack up and set out again on the days journey.

There is more land under cultivation here in theeastern part of Rajasthan. We graze the sheepon the stalks that are left standing in the bajrafields after the harvest. They provide plentifulfodder.

The Sheep Have Problems

There are many problems that we have to faceon our journey. After having been travelling foralmost a month now, the sheep are beginningto tire. In some of the places we passed through,

we were not able to get good fodder. Even findingdrinking water can be difficult at times. Nowitsgetting very cold, and the sheep are beginningto fall ill. Our money and supplies are alsogetting low. Many people are thinking of borrowing money. Theres a small town not farfrom here where theres a wool merchant whomwe know. Some people are planning to go to himand borrowsome money. Then well buy bajraflour, gur and oil from the market. Well make a

In your area, do farmers have the animals manure their fields like this? If yes, then how do they repay the shepherds for this service?

mixture of these things and feed itto the sheep every day. Well also getwhatever medicines they need fromthe market.

If we dont improve the sheeps dietand give them the medicines in time,

they might start dying. It is also verydifficult to herd along sick animalsover long routes. So we might haveto sell off the sick animals along theway. Naturally, we wont get a goodprice for a sick animal, but at leastwell get some cash. This will help usbuy more food and medicine for theother sheep.

The Aravalli HillsTwo months have passed and still our long walk continues. Nowthe Aravalli hills can be seen tothe east.

In this area many farmers irrigate their fieldsfrom tube wells. They growcrops of wheat andgram in winters. Of course we cant graze thesheep in these fields. The animals can be grazedonly in those fields that the farmers have leftfallow. But the owners do let our animals eatthe leaves of the trees growing on the fields.Sometimes, they even pay us to let our sheepgraze and roam over unplanted fields. This isbecause the sheep fertilise their fields with theirdroppings.


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Through all such difficulties, the winter monthspass. After 4 or 5 months, the sheep are againthickly covered with wool. Since we are nowinmid-journey, far from home, we dont have thetime or the equipment to clean the sheep andshear the wool ourselves. So we call someshearers from the town near our camp and paythem to do it.

Wool merchants have shops in every kasba andtown along our route. The merchants themselvescome to our camp to buy the wool.

The wool sheared at the end of the winter is notmuch in quantity, nor is it very clean. Thereforeit doesnt fetch much of an income. However, weget enough money to repay what we hadborrowed for the sheeps food and medicines.We send the remaining money back to ourvillages since by nowour families back homemust be running out of grain and must be findingit difficult to manage.

Why would the family members in the village have to face short ages of grain as winter ends? Explain.

Why do the shepherds get more income from monsoon wool than from winter wool?

In Haryana, desi babool also grows aplenty allaround. Its leaves and fruits are very good forthe sheep. However, we have to take care thatthe sheep do not end up eating vilayati baboolby mistake - this kind is poisonous for sheep.

Throughout April, May and J une we continue

herding the sheep from place to place inHaryana.

The Return J ourney

Summer is passing. Nowthe rains are about tocome. In Haryana, the fields will soon beploughed. Preparations will be made for sowing.It wont be possible to graze sheep over hereany longer. Anyway, nowits time to return toour desert villages.

During June and J uly we travel back. This longreturn journey in hot weather is full of hardships.On all the fields along the way preparations areon for the monsoon sowing. The sheep have tomake do with whatever grass and leaves of treesthey can find by the roadside. By the time wereach our villages in the desert, it will have rainedand they will get fodder - it is with this hopethat we keep walking along. If this hope getsdashed and the rains dont come by the time wereturn, well really be in a very dangerous situation- our very survival will be threatened.The Summer

The months of Marchand April arrive. Nowwe have startedheading out of Rajasthan forHaryana. In Haryanairrigation takes placethrough canals. Therabi crop of wheat isbeing harvested now.Therefore we are ableto find many fields fullof stubble (the stalksthat remain afterharvest), on which thesheep graze to theirhearts content.

Women cleaning wool


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202 THE THAR DESERT

DroughtAn example of such a crisis occurred in 1987. Theshepherds returned home and there was not a dropof rain. Neither grass nor bajra could grow. Thefew leaves left on the shrubs were eaten within a

few days. Where could they go?The whole of western Rajasthan was under a drought. Theshepherds couldnt go back to Haryana - therewould be crops standing in the fields there. If theystayed in their villages how would they save theanimals from dying?And if the animals died, howwould the people survive? Farming was alreadyout of the question.

Do you know what the hundreds of sheep-rearersof the desert did?They borrowed money and hired

trucks, loaded their sheep on to the trucks, andheaded for the jungles of Madhya Pradesh. Thatwas the only place they could find where theirsheep could graze. They had to use trucks to getthere because there wasnt enough fodder for theanimals to eat along the way.

Thousands and thousands of sheep came to grazein the jungles of M.P. The forest department triedto stop this and they made the sheep-rearers payheavy fines. As the drought-like situation inRajasthan continued year after year, the shepherds

decided not to go back home at all for themonsoons. Instead they decided to use the forestsof M.P to graze their sheep in the monsoonmonths. Hundreds of sheep-rearers of the Tharwith 15-20 lakh sheep have left their villagesforever. T hey keep movi ng between easternRajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and the jungles and thefields of Madhya Pradesh. They have gone to courtagainst the restrictions and taxes that the forestdepartment imposes upon them.

Sand DunesIn some parts of the Thar Desert there are vast dunes of shifting sand everywhere. Blown by the swiftdesert breeze the sand of one dune moves ahead and forms a new dune in a new place. In the absolutelydry summer months there are sand storms as well. Then it becomes difficult to go outside. Sometimes thewinds blow the sand great distances, darkening the sky for days even in places as far away as Delhi.

Sand dunes can be seen allaround in Jaisalmer, Bikaner, andGanganagar. The sand dunes andsand storms create greatproblems for the irrigatedagriculture of Ganganagar. Thechannels that carry water keepgetting choked by sand. Sandsettles over crops sown in thefields, crushing the smallerplants. Fields may have to be

List the options the shepherds have during the monsoon months and write the pros and cons of each option.

Do the shepherds have the right to use the forest?

What harm m ight t he shepherds bring on t he forest-: Would large numbers of t rees be cut by them? Would small saplings planted by the for est

department be eaten up by the grazing sheep?

What benefit s can the sheep bring to the forest?

Can a balanced policy be made to protect t he forests and t he needs of t he shepherds? In your opinion, what will it contain?


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THE THAR DESERT 203

reploughed and resown a number of times. Sandhas to be removed from canals and from the fieldsmany times.

Neither grass nor shrubs can grow on these shiftingdunes. H ence they are of no use for grazing.Attempts are being made to plant shrubs on them,

There are no rivers in western Rajasthan, but just to the north lies Punjab. In Punjab theSutlej, Beas, and Ravi, carry plenty of waterthroughout the year. Much of this water comesfrom the melting of the Himalayan snow.

In 1958 the Rajasthan Canal Project was takenup in order to build a 649 km long canal tobring water from the Sutlej to the desert of Rajasthan. As a result of this, the northern areasof Rajasthan are now being irrigated, especiallyin the Ganganagar district. Some areasbordering the canal that had been absolutelydry and sandy are now completely transformedinto farmland.

Here, instead of one crop of bajra a year, two

crops are taken. Wheat, gram, cotton, jowar,sugar cane, groundnuts, jeera, dhania, chilliesand other crops are now being grown in thedesert, thanks to the canal waters.

Earlier there were few people living inGanganagar District. After the canal was builtthe government resettled many farmers of Punjab and Haryana there. These farmers wereexperienced in intensive farming. Many farmersof Rajasthan also adopted intensive irrigated

agriculture.

Problems for the ShepherdsWith irrigated farming taking place, theshepherds ran into problems. Sevan grassdisappeared. Now crops are standing in the fieldsyear round, and it has become difficult to grazeanimals. As a result, many people sold off theiranimals.

Too Much WaterThen, after a number of years of irrigation, thefarmers also had to face a new and serious problem.Irrigating the sandy land resulted in raising the levelof ground water. This happened because just 1.5 to

6 metres beneath the surface was a hard layer of limestone. The water from the canals and irrigatedfields seeped down and collected on top of this layerof limestone. As the water level rose an area of about8000 sq km became almost waterlogged and marshy.

Salination of the SoilSince the water table rose up the salts found underthe ground also dissolved in the water and came closeto the surface of the soil. Thus, each year the soilgradually got more and more saline. After a numberof years the fields got so saline that crops could nolonger be grown. Cultivation had to be abandonedin such fields for many years.

As a result of the problems created by the canalwaters, efforts are now being made to grow more of such crops that require less irrigation. Efforts arealso being made to adopt irrigation techniques thatdo not waste as much water as happens when waterflows through long channels to reach the crops.

Attempts have been made to lay pipelines in fieldsand use sprinklers that enable water to reach theroots of the crops directly.

Many people suggest that instead of increasingirrigated farming in the desert, raising animals shouldbe encouraged. Irrigation water could be used to growgrasses, and shrubs rather than crops. Since less waterwould be required, water logging and salinity wouldbe reduced.

Attempts to M ake the Desert Green

so that the sand is not blown away. Shrubs couldalso provide fuel wood and fodder for animals.

Shifting sand dunes and sand storms are amongthe many hardships that the people of this dryregion have to endure. There are no easy solutionsfor such problems.


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Exercises1. Use your Atlas to answer t he following questions:

a) Find t hree cities or t owns that are in t he Thar Desert.

b) Is the Thar Desert at the same elevation as most of the Ganga River Basin?

c) Is the Thar Desert at a hi gher or lower elevation compared to Ajm er and Udaipur?

d) According t o the map in your Atlas, what is the average temperatur e in January in Bikaner?

2. How does water scarcity aff ect t he lives of p eople in the desert? Explain.

3. Compar e the eastern and western regions of Rajasthan . Mention d ifferences and similarit ies in land, water, vegetat ion, agricult ure and the life of people.

4. The people of the desert depend more on rainwat er than on gr ound wat er. Why?

5. What kind of fodder do the sheep get in the monsoon, in the summ er and in the wint er?

6. When is the wool of t he sheep sheared? How is the woo l sold?

7. Why do the shepherds have to t ake loans?

8. If you were a shepherd in th e Thar, what would you t hink if you heard the government was planning to b uild a canal near your village? Explain i n detail.

9. What are three advantages and thr ee disadvantages of introducing irrigated farm ing in the desert?

10. Look at t he Table below and t ell which kind s of anim als are the second m ost i mpor tant source of meat in India.

Meat an d Poultry Produced in India (1995) Meat an d Poultry Produced in India (1995) Meat an d Poultry Produced in India (1995) Meat an d Poultry Produced in India (1995) Meat an d Poultry Produced in India (1995)

S S S S S our our our our our c c c c c e e e e e P P P P P er er er er er c c c c c ent of t ent of t ent of t ent of t ent of t otal meat pr otal meat pr otal meat pr otal meat pr otal meat pr o o o o o du c du c du c du c du c t s t s t s t s t s

Catt le and buffaloes 40%

Sheep and goat s 26%

Pigs 16%

Pou lt r y (m ai nl y ch icken ) 16%

Others 2%

( Source of d ata: Nat ional School Atla s, Depart ment of Science and Technolog y, Governm ent of India , 1999)

A man weaving with goat hair

17 the thar desert

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