The Big Picture - Floods & River Linking

Some northern Indian states could receive rainfall during the next 4-5 days, but monsoon activity could be subdued in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra’s interiors, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in the next 3-4 days, the India Meteorological Department said on Sunday. After recording above normal rains between July 6 and July 11, monsoon appears to be slowing down, sparking concerns in the agriculture sector, according to experts. Overall rainfall deficiency in the country till Sunday was 12.5% over the long period average, an improvement from June’s 33% — the highest deficiency in June in four years. The sluggish monsoon has impacted the sowing of summer cops. But in northeastern India, floods have caused widespread damage, with several lives being lost as a result of flooding. On this edition of The Big Picture we analyse the dual problems of floods and water shortage and the linking of rivers to deal with our water woes.

Guests:
RK Sinha, Member (RM), Central Water Commission
Nitin Desai, Chairman, TERI
Tajamul Haque, Former Chairman, CACP
Aman Agarwal, Director, Indian Institute of Finance

Anchor - Frank Rausan Pereira