#irrigation schemes

[farmerstrend]

Food shortage and rising cost of living are caused by the failure of large-scale agricultural projects and poor governance.

Discover the causes of Kenya’s food shortage crisis, from failed agricultural projects to corruption in subsidy programs, and explore solutions for achieving food security through better trade policies, irrigation expansion, and climate adaptation. Kenya faces a severe food shortage and rising costs. Learn how mismanaged irrigation schemes, corruption, and poor governance have exacerbated the…

[glorious-maharashtra]

“मुख्यमंत्री शाश्वत कृषी सिंचन योजना — मागेल त्याला शेततळे(Magel Tyala Shettale)” हा महाराष्ट्र राज्य सरकारने कृषी, पशुसंवर्धन, दुग्धविकास आणि मत्स्यव्यवसाय मंत्रालयाच्या अंतर्गत 2022–23 मध्ये सुरू केलेला एक महत्त्वपूर्ण उपक्रम आहे. राज्यातील शेतकरी, विशेषतः पावसावर अवलंबून असलेल्या शेतीवर अवलंबून असलेल्या पाणीटंचाईच्या आव्हानांना तोंड देण्याचे या योजनेचे उद्दिष्ट आहे.

योजनेचा उद्देश || Purpose of the Scheme:

महाराष्ट्रातील 82% शेतजमीन पावसावर अवलंबून असल्याने, शेतकरी अनेकदा विसंगत पावसाचा सामना करतात, ज्यामुळे पीक उत्पादन कमी होते आणि काही प्रकरणांमध्ये, संपूर्ण पीक अपयशी ठरते. “मागेल त्याला शेततळे” योजना, ज्याला वैयक्तिक शेत तलाव उपक्रम म्हणूनही ओळखले जाते, ही आव्हाने कमी करण्यासाठी शेतकऱ्यांना शेततळे बांधण्यासाठी आर्थिक सहाय्य प्रदान करून सुरू करण्यात आली. हे तलाव पावसाचे पाणी पकडण्यात आणि साठवण्यात मदत करतात, कोरड्या हंगामात सिंचनासाठी विश्वसनीय जलस्रोत सुनिश्चित करतात, ज्यामुळे पिकांचे संरक्षण होते आणि नुकसान कमी होते.

आर्थिक सहाय्य || Financial Assistance:

या योजनेअंतर्गत, वैयक्तिक शेतकरी शेततळ्याच्या आकारानुसार, किमान ₹14,433 ते कमाल ₹75,000 पर्यंतच्या अनुदानासाठी पात्र आहेत. या आर्थिक सहाय्याचा उद्देश तलाव बांधण्याशी संबंधित खर्च भागवणे आहे, ज्यामुळे शेतकरी त्यांच्या जमिनीवर शाश्वत पाण्याचे स्रोत निर्��ाण करू शकतात.

For More Info: Magel Tyala Shettale || मागेल त्याला शेततळे — मुख्यमंत्री शाश्वत कृषी सिंचन योजना (gloriousmaharashtra.com)

[umangharyana]

किसानों के लिए खुशखबरी: अब हर खेत तक पहुंचेगा सिंचाई का पानी!

बिहार सरकार ने किसानों को सिंचाई सुविधा में सुधार लाने और कृषि उत्पादन बढ़ाने के उद्देश्य से मुख्यमंत्री कृषि विद्य��त संबंध योजना (Mukhyamantri Krishi Vidyut Sambandh Yojana) की शुरुआत की है। इस योजना के तहत डीजल पंपसेटों को बिजली कनेक्शन से जोड़कर किसानों को राहत प्रदान की जा रही है। सरकार का लक्ष्य है कि राज्य के हर खेत तक सिंचाई का पानी पहुंच सके, जिससे किसान न केवल आत्मनिर्भर बन सकें बल्कि…

[townpostin]

Drought Concerns Dominate Jharkhand Assembly Session

Lawmakers Debate Agricultural Crisis as BJP Protests Disrupt Proceedings Jharkhand Assembly’s monsoon session zeroes in on the state’s alarming drought situation, with only a fraction of paddy planted and limited irrigation coverage. RANCHI – The fourth day of Jharkhand’s monsoon assembly session saw heated discussions on the state’s severe drought conditions, prompting government assurances of…

[bhanureddi]

Under the governance of N. Chandrababu Naidu and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Andhra Pradesh stands as a pioneer in water management with the successful completion of the Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Scheme. This transformative project, completed on 28-03-2016, symbolizes the TDP party's  unwavering commitment to harnessing water resources efficiently for the benefit of agriculture and the well-being of its citizens.

[max--phillips]

Okay here goes

First, the spoiler free stuff:

Ridley Scott knows how to make a fucking film.

If I don’t see fics of Acacius x reader x Lucilla I will begin biting

If you are going in it for Pedro, I will warn you his character is very important but kind of… idk, shallow is too strong of a word, but not very fleshed out. I don’t think that’s an issue in the greater scheme of the movie though, it makes sense in the plot and doesn’t feel out of place or bad in the universe.

If you are going in it for Paul Mescal, you will not be disappointed.

Please watch the first movie first. The story will not make any fucking sense if you don’t.

Just the right amount of flashbacks and footage from the first movie . Chefs kiss

Ridley Scott really said “all emperors and tyrants are nasty little freaks with terrible vibes”

Oh also if you’re squeamish about gore and stuff like. It’s a movie about gladiators so set your expectations accordingly. There is an instance of a disembodied head used as a prop. So y’know

Okay, spoilery stuff below the cut

Arishat was hot :( rip

Monkeys at the beginning? Terrible. 0/10 did not enjoy that. Also did not enjoy seeing and hearing Mr. Mescal BITING ONE

I love Ravi I would watch a whole movie just about him tending to gladiators’ wounds quite frankly. Give me that story

We love to see bisexuality on screen (even though that wasn’t a social identity at the time but we’re not here to talk about that) what with the concubines and drunk as fuck Macrinus

Speaking of drunk as fuck Macrinus: that whole scene was so fucking funny. They’re like that meme about people getting high. You know the one

Speaking of Macrinus—Denzel Washington stole the show. When TIME magazine pushed a story to me today headlined “Gladiator II Belongs to Denzel Washington,” I was like, pshhhh, nah. But it really does. It’s not about him? But it’s his fucking show.

The politics . THE POLITICS

It feels a little heavy handed right now but that wasn’t probably how it was intended, given it was made before. Y’know. The election. But the whole dream of Rome being a place where everyone is equal and cared for but you can only whisper it or it’ll shatter? Yeah.

Oh, right, Acacius: that dude is so tired he does NOT want to be there. Let him go home to his hot wife. Alas, his hot wife is the way she is and like… no good deed goes unpunished.

And I fucking called it with my text post a few months ago. Two (2) movies now where Denzel Washington (either directly or indirectly) kills Pedro Pascal. Brilliant

Admittedly selfishly I would’ve liked to see more of him. But it felt like the correct thing in the context of the story. If he didn’t die then, if he wasn’t the inciting event for the uprising of the people of Rome, it wouldn’t have made sense and it would’ve just been fan service and “look, we got Pedro Pascal!” at that point.

I would’ve liked to see a more in-depth exploration of the change in relationship between Lucius and Lucilla—it seems like they went from Lucius screaming at her to get out to them hugging it out without any real development between the two of them specifically. Obviously a lot had happened in the world of the movie at that point but nonetheless

Macrinus shooting Lucilla was his Icarus moment. There was no coming back from that. “But what about Geta” “but what about Caracalla” no. It was Lucilla. If she’d gotten got by the praetorian guards or something else, it would’ve been fine. But because it was Macrinus there was nowhere he could go from there other than [checks notes] getting his hand chopped off and then gutted in a dirty irrigation ditch.

Remember kids, the people in power who are causing all of the things going wrong in the world have names and addresses and are mortal <3

Also another takeaway from the movie: imperialism, religious extremism, ableism, and authoritarianism will be the end of us all <3

Anyway. Good movie. Can’t wait to watch it again in my own home with subtitles so I can actually like… process everything everyone was saying LMAO and take better reaction notes.

I’m still sitting in the theater parking lot it’s been like 30 minutes LMAO okay thanks for coming to my tedtalk or whatever

[stumpyjoepete]

A canal that irrigates a big chunk of Shaanxi province to the north of Xi'an was built ~2300 years ago as part of a ridiculous scheme to sabotage the state of Qin. Tactical fucking hydrology:

But [the state of] Han heard that [the state of] Qin was fond of embarking on enterprises, so with the intention of causing its energies to be dissipated and in order to prevent it from making an attack to the east, it accordingly dispatched a water engineer named Zheng Guo to give controversial advice to Qin by making it excavate a canal from the Jing River west of Mount Zhong as far as Hukou, from where it was to go east along the Northern Mountains and flow into the Luo. It would be more than 300 li long, and the intention would be to use it to irrigate the fields. When it was half completed the true purpose was realized, and Qin intended to kill Zheng Guo, but Zheng Guo said: ‘At first I was acting in order to cause dissension, but when the canal is completed it will surely be a benefit to Qin.’ Qin thought this was true, so in the end had the progress on the canal continued. When the canal did make further progress, it was used to cause the stagnant waters to flow, and irrigate the salty land over an area of more than 40,000 qing, so that the harvest totalled one zhong per mou. Thereupon the area within the passes was turned into fertile but uncultivated land, and there were no calamitous years, and thus Qin became rich and strong, and in the end unified the feudal states. Because of this it was called the Zheng Guo Canal.

Everything in Chinese history seems like this. Improbably long ago, improbably large, and improbably tied up with stories from the warring states period or whatever.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Marcia McNutt

Published: Nov 14, 2024

Long before the 5 November US presidential election, I had become ever more concerned that science has fallen victim to the same political divisiveness tearing at the seams of American society. This is a tragedy because science is the best—arguably the only—approach humankind has developed to peer into the future, to project the outcomes of various possible decisions using the known laws of the natural world. Since the founding of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) during the Civil War, the most divisive period in US history, science and the NAS (of which I am the current president) have consistently served the nation, regardless of the political party in power. As the scientific community continues to do so now, it must take a critical look at what responsibility it bears in science becoming politically contentious, and how scientists can rebuild public trust.

For starters, scientists need to better explain the norms and values of science to reinforce the notion—with the public and their elected representatives—that science, at its most basic, is apolitical. Careers of scientists advance when they improve upon, or show the errors in, the work of others, not by simply agreeing with prior work. Whether conservative or liberal, citizens ignore the nature of reality at their peril. A recent example is the increased death rate from COVID-19 (as much as 26% higher) in US regions where political leaders dismissed the science on the effectiveness of vaccines. Scientists should better explain the scientific process and what makes it so trustworthy, while more candidly acknowledging that science can only provide the best available evidence and cannot dictate what people should value. Science cannot say whether society should prioritize allocating river water for sustaining fish or for irrigating farms, but it can predict immediate and long-term outcomes of any allocation scheme. Science can also find solutions that avoid the zero-sum dilemma by finding conservation approaches to water management that benefit both fish and farms.

In addition, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine need to examine how scientists may have contributed to the polarization of the use of science. Although scientists must never shirk their duty to provide the foundation of evidence that can guide policy decisions and to defend science and scientists from political interference, they must avoid the tendency to imply that science dictates policy. It is up to elected officials to determine policy based on the outcomes desired by their constituents. It is the role of science to inform these decision-makers as to whether those desired outcomes are likely to result from the policies being enacted.

The scientific community must also better recognize that it may not be helpful to emphasize consensus in policy reports’ recommendations when the underlying values are not universally shared. For example, although science can affirm that climate change is happening and is primarily caused by anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, science can only predict the outcome of the various policies that might be enacted to address the problem. It is up to society and its elected leadership to decide how to balance these options, including the use of renewable energy, climate adaptation, carbon capture, or even various interventions that reflect sunlight back into space.

Last month the NAS Council issued a statement reaffirming its core principles of objectivity, independence, and excellence. This commitment requires including viewpoints far beyond just those of academia in National Academies’ advisory committees. Building trust will require more active listening to affected communities—for example, farmers, fishermen, and conservationists in the water example above. At the same time, the scientific community must fight scientific mis- and disinformation as though lives depended on truth and trust, because they do.

The public and policy-makers can discuss and debate how to respond to the myriad challenges that confront society, but these deliberations need to be informed by the objective, dispassionate evidence that only science can provide. To that end, the NAS stands ready, as it always has, to advise the incoming administration.

==

Note: Marcia McNutt is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

[steelindustryman]

GI Flanges Manufacture in Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh is emerging as a significant player in the manufacturing sector, especially in the production of Galvanized Iron (GI) flanges. The state's strategic location and robust industrial infrastructure have positioned it as a hub for various manufacturing activities, including the fabrication of GI flanges used in plumbing, piping, and structural applications.

The process of manufacturing GI flanges involves several critical steps, starting with the selection of high-quality raw materials. Local manufacturers often source steel from prominent steel producers to ensure the durability and strength of the flanges. The raw steel is then subjected to various processes, including cutting, shaping, and welding, to achieve the desired flange design and specifications.

Andhra Pradesh boasts several industrial estates and clusters that are specifically designed to promote manufacturing. These zones provide manufacturers with the necessary facilities and incentives to set up production units. The presence of skilled labor, along with technological advancements, plays a crucial role in enhancing the efficiency and quality of production. Manufacturers in the region utilize state-of-the-art machinery and techniques to produce GI flanges that meet national and international standards.

Furthermore, the government of Andhra Pradesh has been proactive in promoting the MSME (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) sector, which includes companies engaged in the manufacture of GI flanges. Various schemes and financial incentives are available to assist small manufacturers in acquiring machinery, technology, and skilled labor. This support has contributed to the growth of the GI flange manufacturing sector in the state.

The demand for GI flanges has surged in recent years due to increased infrastructure development, including projects in construction, water supply, and irrigation. Andhra Pradesh's ongoing initiatives to enhance its industrial base and attract investments are likely to further stimulate the growth of GI flange manufacturing in the state. With a focus on quality, efficiency, and innovation, manufacturers in Andhra Pradesh are poised to meet the rising demand for GI flanges in domestic and international markets.

[dailyanarchistposts]

Mega Schemes

Huge hydraulic schemes are made possible by advanced modern civil engineering techniques. They require vast international contracts that are only possible at the level of central governments, international free floating capital and supranational government organisations. The financiers borrow money and lend it at commercial rates, so they favour largescale engineering projects that promise increasing production for export markets at the expense of local subsistence economies, with disastrous social and environmental effects. Cash crops destroy settled communities and cause pollution of soil and water. For instance, Ethiopia’s Third Five-Year Plan brought 60% of cultivated land in the fertile Awash Valley under cotton, evicting Afar pastoralists onto fragile uplands which accelerated deforestation and contributed to the country’s ecological crisis and famine. There’s a vicious circle at work. Development needs money. Loans can only be repaid through cash crops that earn foreign currency. These need lots more water than subsistence farming. Large hydraulic schemes to provide this water are development. Development needs money. And so it goes.

Large-scale projects everywhere are the consequence and justification for authoritarian government: one of America’s great dam-building organisations is the US Army Corps of Engineering. Stalin’s secret police supervised the construction of dams and canals. Soldiers such as Nasser of Egypt and Gadafi of Libya and military regimes in South America have been prominent in promoting such projects. Nasser built the Anwar High dam in 1971. The long-term consequences have been to stop the annual flow of silt onto delta land, requiring a growing use of expensive chemical fertilisers, and increased vulnerability to erosion from the Mediterranean. Formerly the annual flooding washed away the build-up of natural salts; now they increase the salt content of irrigated land. The buildup of silt behind the dam is reducing its electricity generating capacity; the lake is also responsible for the dramatic increase in water-borne diseases. Nationalism leads to hydraulic projects without thought to what happens downstream in other countries. The 1992 floods of the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Barak system killed 10,000 people. 500m people live in the region, nearly 10% of the world’s population, and they are constantly at risk from water exploitation and mismanagement. Technological imperialism has replaced the empire building of the past: large-scale hydro projects are exported to countries despite many inter-related problems – deforestation, intensive land use and disputes and so on. Large-scale water engineering projects foment international disputes and have become economic bargaining counters, for example the Pergau dam in Malaysia. The British Government agreed to spend £234m on it in 1989 in exchange for a £1.3bn arms deal. In 1994 the High Court ruled that the aid decision was unlawful but these kinds of corrupt deals continue.

In Sri Lanka the disruption caused by the Mahawelli dams and plantation projects resulted in the forcible eviction of 1 million people and helped maintain the insurgency of the Tamil Tigers that resulted in thousands of deaths as they fought government forces from the late 1980s onwards. In 1993 the Marsh Arabs of southern Iraq were threatened by Saddam Hussein’s plans to drain the area – the most heavily populated part of the region. Many of the 100,000 inhabitants fled after being warned that any opposition risked death. Selincourt estimated that 3 million people would lose their homes, livelihoods, land and cultural identity by giant dam projects in the 1990s. The Kedung Ombo dam (Indonesia) displaced 25,000; the Akasombo dam (Ghana) 80,000; Caborra Bassa (South Africa) 25,000. Three dams in Laos alone will have displaced 142,000 people. The proposed Xiao Langdi dam in China would displace 140,000; the Three Gorges project 1.1 million people. Only war inflicts a similar level of human and environmental destruction, yet large dam projects have a chronic record in delivering water and power, or eliminating flooding in downstream valleys.

[farmerstrend]

Study reveals invasive Apple Snail could spread further in Africa

New research led by CABI and including the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) reveals that the invasive Apple Snail – which threatens rice crops – could spread further in Africa. A team of researchers from CABI’s regional centre for Africa in Nairobi, working with KEPHIS, suggest that South West along Tana River, Western Kenya and areas coastal areas are suitable for Apple Snail…

[thedalatribune]

© Paolo Dala

Water And Nations

Water separates and connects states. By serving as a boundary or flowing across man-made borders, surface and ground waters require states to interact. With issues including navigation, the quantity and quality of water flowing from one country to another, or the environmental, economic and social impacts of infrastructure like dams or vast irrigation schemes beyond borders, such topics often become part of diplomatic interactions between countries. Results of such diplomatic interactions have yielded numerous bilateral and basin-wide agreements in recent decades, such as the '1964 Lake Chad Convention', the '1972 Senegal Agreement', the '1994 Danube River Protection Convention', or the '1995 Mekong Agreement', aiming at institutionalizing cooperative relations over time. Moreover, diplomatic efforts at the global level have led to two global conventions1 that codify generally accepted principles of international water law. At the same time, the role of water as trigger, amplifier or cause for interstate hostilities or even violent interaction has been widely discussed in academia and has placed it on the agenda of global actors. Historical records and contemporary experiences show that shared water resources can be both a source of conflict and of cooperation.

In spite of significant progress made on cooperation over shared water resources, they (similar to other environmental issues) pose some peculiar challenges to diplomats and diplomatic processes: First, water is mobile. Water flows, evaporates, and precipitates. It can be stored, but only in limited quantities and not permanently. Flows of surface and groundwater therefore often transcend borders while also maintaining a physical presence in different territories which challenges traditional claims of sovereignty. Water cannot be “owned” by one country as can coal reserves, oil, or forests.

Second, water is variable and the volume of water in a transboundary river, lake, wetland, or aquifer varies from year to year depending on precipitation and weather patterns, increasingly impacted by climate change. Exact measurements of water availability and forecasts are difficult and expensive to conduct, even with modern technologies. All planning and negotiations therefore take place with some, and sometimes high, uncertainty over the object of negotiation.

Third, humans and nature depend on water as the basis of life. This does not only concern survival of the individual, but also of the social fabric and the way economic and political systems have developed. In addition, water has a substantive spiritual significance for many people and societies, for example related to its holy status in many religions or indigenous cultures. Thus, governments making decisions about water have to consider many stakeholders, needs, interests, and values.

As a consequence, those responsible for addressing transboundary water problems have and still do struggle in addressing the complexity of shared water resources in an equitable, effective, and sustainable way. Likewise, research that analyzes these attempts has faced challenges in adequately addressing the multi-disciplinarity of the problem.

Jenniver Sehring, Susanne Schemeir, Rozemarijn ter Horst, Alyssa Offutt, and Bota Sharipova Diving into Water Diplomacy - Exploring the Emergence of a Concept

[umangharyana]

किसानों को मिला बड़ा तोहफा: मुफ्त बिजली कनेक्शन से सिंचाई होगी सस्ती

पटना, बिहार – बिहार सरकार ने किसानों को सशक्त बनाने और उनकी कृषि उत्पादकता बढ़ाने के लिए एक बड़ी पहल की है। मुख्यमंत्री कृषि विद्युत संबंध योजना (Mukhyamantri Krishi Vidyut Sambandh Yojana) के तहत किसानों को डीजल पंपसेट की जगह बिजली कनेक्शन मुफ्त में प्रदान किया जा रहा है। इस योजना का उद्देश्य है हर खेत तक सिंचाई का पानी पहुंचाना, जिससे कृषि उत्पादन में सुधार हो सके और किसानों की लागत घटाई जा…

[shamandrummer]

168 New Nazca Geoglyphs Discovered

More than 100 new designs discovered in and around Peru's Nazca plain and surrounding areas could bring new information to light about the ancient artworks that have intrigued scientists and visitors for decades. Following two years of field surveys with aerial photos and drones, Peruvian and Japanese researches from Yamagata University reported the discovery of 168 new designs at the Unesco World Heritage site on Peru's southern Pacific coast.

The geoglyphs, huge figures carved into the South American desert, date back more than 2,000 years and depict living creatures, stylized plants and imaginary beings, as well as geometric figures several kilometres long. Jorge Olano, head archaeologist for the Nazca Lines research program, said the newly discovered figures averaged between 2 and 6 meters (6.56 to 19.7ft) in length.

The purpose of the Nazca Lines, which could only be seen from the air, remains a mystery. These new findings, however, are smaller and can be seen from the ground. The figures, iconic vestiges of Peru's rich history, are about a three-hour drive from the capital, Lima. Researchers had already discovered 190 figures in the area since 2004. But the vastness of the terrain they cover has complicated efforts to study and conserve the heritage site.

Yamagata University said the research will be used in artificial intelligence-based surveys to help inform the lines' preservation. Studies from the university in collaboration with Peru's government have helped delineate and protect the area, which is facing threats from urban and economic developments. Some geoglyphs are in danger of being destroyed due to the recent expansion of mining-related workshops in the archaeological park.

Anthropologists, ethnologists, and archaeologists have studied the ancient Nazca culture to try to determine the purpose of the lines and figures. One hypothesis is that the Nazca people created them to be seen by deities in the sky. Another theory is related to astronomy and cosmology, as has been common in monuments of other ancient cultures: the lines were intended to act as a kind of observatory, to point to the places on the distant horizon where the sun and other celestial bodies rose or set at the solstices.

Other theories were that the geometric lines could indicate water flow or irrigation schemes, or be a part of rituals to "summon" water. The spiders, birds, and plants may be fertility symbols. It also has been theorized that the lines could act as an astronomical calendar, as proved by the presence of radial centers aligned along the directions of winter solstice and equinox sunset. Researchers believe that the geoglyphs were the venues of events linked to the agriculture calendar. These also served to strengthen social cohesion among various groups of pilgrims, sharing common ancestors and religious beliefs.

[townpostin]

Minister Deepak Birua Addresses Public Issues at JMM Meeting in Jhinkpani

Minister urges action on water issues and other public concerns during a JMM meeting in Jhinkpani. Minister Deepak Birua met with JMM block committee members and workers to discuss and address various public issues in Jhinkpani block. CHAIABASA – Minister Deepak Birua held a meeting with the JMM block committee and local workers at the JMM office in Jhinkpani block on Sunday. The session…