Multipurpose Projects MCQs Quiz | Class 10
This quiz tests your knowledge on Multipurpose Projects. It covers key concepts related to dams, their advantages, and criticisms. Submit your answers and download a PDF of your results for review. Class X, Subject: Geography, Unit: Water Resources.
Educational Content: Multipurpose Projects
Multipurpose river valley projects are large-scale projects designed to serve several purposes simultaneously, such as irrigation, hydroelectric power generation, flood control, water supply for domestic and industrial use, inland navigation, fisheries, and recreation. Dams are fundamental to these projects, acting as barriers across rivers to impound water, creating reservoirs. These projects play a crucial role in managing water resources and contributing to the economic development of a region.
Advantages of Multipurpose Projects
Dams offer numerous benefits:
- Hydroelectric Power Generation: Dams allow water to be released through turbines, generating clean and renewable electricity.
- Irrigation: The stored water is diverted through canals to irrigate vast agricultural lands, boosting food production and ensuring crop reliability.
- Flood Control: Reservoirs can store excess water during heavy rainfall, preventing devastating floods in downstream areas.
- Water Supply: They provide a reliable source of water for drinking and industrial needs to nearby towns and cities.
- Inland Navigation: Deeper and wider channels created by dams can facilitate inland water transport, often in conjunction with canals.
- Fisheries: Reservoirs can support aquaculture and fisheries, providing livelihoods and food sources.
- Recreation and Tourism: Many dam sites develop into popular tourist spots for boating, picnicking, and sightseeing.
Criticisms and Disadvantages of Dams
Despite their benefits, large dams face significant criticisms:
- Displacement of Local Communities: The construction of dams often submerges vast areas, displacing thousands of local people, particularly tribal communities, who lose their homes, livelihoods, and access to traditional resources. Rehabilitation efforts are often inadequate.
- Environmental Impact:
- Habitat Loss: Submergence of forests and agricultural land leads to deforestation and loss of biodiversity.
- River Ecology: Dams alter the natural flow of rivers, affecting aquatic life (e.g., fish migration and breeding).
- Sedimentation: Silt accumulates in reservoirs, reducing their water-holding capacity and affecting downstream riverbeds.
- Waterlogging and Salinity: Extensive irrigation can sometimes lead to waterlogging and increased soil salinity in agricultural areas.
- Water-Induced Diseases: Stagnant water in reservoirs can become breeding grounds for disease vectors like mosquitoes.
- Interstate Water Disputes: The sharing of river water among states can become a source of conflict, especially with large projects impacting multiple regions.
- High Costs and Time Overruns: Large projects involve massive financial investment and often suffer from delays and cost escalations.
- Seismic Risks: In some geologically active regions, the immense weight of the water in large reservoirs can induce seismic activity.
Key Multipurpose Projects in India
| Project Name | River | State(s) Benefited | Key Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bhakra Nangal Project | Sutlej | Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan | Irrigation, Power Generation, Flood Control |
| Hirakud Dam Project | Mahanadi | Odisha | Irrigation, Power Generation, Flood Control |
| Damodar Valley Project | Damodar | Jharkhand, West Bengal | Flood Control, Power Generation, Irrigation |
| Sardar Sarovar Project | Narmada | Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan | Irrigation, Water Supply, Power Generation |
| Tungabhadra Project | Tungabhadra | Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh | Irrigation, Power Generation |
Quick Revision
- Multipurpose Projects: Serve multiple objectives (irrigation, power, flood control).
- Dams: Barriers across rivers to impound water, creating reservoirs.
- Advantages: Hydroelectricity, irrigation, flood mitigation, water supply, navigation, fisheries.
- Criticisms: Displacement of communities, environmental damage (habitat loss, sedimentation), interstate water disputes, high costs.
- Jawaharlal Nehru: Referred to large dams as ‘Temples of modern India’.
Extra Practice Questions
- List three main advantages of constructing a multipurpose dam.
- What are the primary reasons for the displacement of people due to dam construction?
- Explain how dams contribute to hydroelectricity generation.
- Mention two environmental concerns associated with large dams.
- Which major river is associated with the Sardar Sarovar Project?
Content created and reviewed by the CBSE Quiz Editorial Team based on the latest NCERT textbooks and CBSE syllabus. Our goal is to help students practice concepts clearly, confidently, and exam-ready through well-structured MCQs and revision content.