It’s a long, dry summer. Many of the smaller streams and springs in the valley have thinned to a trickle or dried up completely. Villagers are worried.
Santa is with Banta near the spring downslope of an old landslide, which, remarkably, still has a steady, though reduced, flow.
“Banta,” Santa says, “it’s a mystery!”
“My own field’s spring has almost vanished.”
The ‘Badi Nadi‘ has water but that’s too silty due to melting glaciers.”
“But this old spring, near this massive landslide that happened before even our great-grandfathers’ time, it still gives us cool, clear water.”
“Is it blessed by the mountain gods?”
Banta smiles.
“The blessings of nature are indeed profound here, Santa.”
“But there’s also a wonderful geological reason why this old landslide spring is often more reliable than others, especially during dry times.”
“A geological reason?” Santa asks.
“I thought landslides only brought destruction.”
“In their immediate aftermath, they do, Santa,” Banta acknowledges.
“But as we’ve discussed, over very long periods, the debris from a large, deep-seated landslide can create a unique underground water storage system.”
“You see, most of our hard Himalayan rocks don’t have many pores or cracks to hold large amounts of water, like a sponge.”
“So, when rain falls, much of it runs off quickly.”
“The water in our glacier-fed rivers, as you said, is often silty and not ideal for direct use in summer.”
He gestures towards the vast, ancient landslide area above the spring.
“But that enormous mass of broken rock and soil from the old slide?”
“It’s different.”
“It’s like a huge, jumbled pile.”
“Initially, rainwater just rushed through it.”
“But over centuries, as the finer clay and silt particles were washed down and got trapped by the bigger boulders within the debris, a kind of natural, impermeable ‘cemented’ layer formed deep inside, like the bottom of a well-made hauz.”
“So, the landslide built its own hauz underground?”
“Precisely!” Banta continues.
“The looser, more porous landslide material sitting above this naturally formed impervious layer became a substantial ‘bhandaar‘ for rainwater.”
“This ‘perched aquifer‘ can store a much larger volume of water compared to the thin soil cover or fractured rock in other areas.”
“Because this hauz‘ is deep and well-protected within the old landslide, it releases its water slowly and steadily, feeding this spring even when surface sources have dried up.”
Santa looks at the life-giving spring with new eyes.
“So, that ancient calamity, that massive falling of the mountain, over centuries turned into a blessing for us, a secret water bank?”
“In a way, yes, Santa,” Banta affirms.
“It’s a powerful reminder that the landscape around us is always evolving.”
“What was once a zone of destruction has, through slow natural processes, become a zone of sustenance.”
“Our ancestors likely recognised this, which is why so many settlements and vital water points are found in proximity to these old, stabilised landslide features.”
“They understood the landslide‘s long-term legacy.”
Santa scoops up some cool water from the spring.
“So, every time I drink from this spring, I should remember the long journey of the mountain – from falling in anger to giving water with kindness.”
“It makes this water even more precious, Banta.”
#piyoosh #piyooshrautela #riskavoider #riskavoideracademy
संता – बंता की इस जुगलबन्दी से आज हमने क्या सीखा:-
- पुराने व स्थिर हो चुके भू-स्खलन क्षेत्रों से उत्पन्न होने वाले जल स्त्रोत प्रायः सदाबहार व भरोसे योग्य होते है / Springs originating from old, stabilized landslide zones are often more perennial and reliable due to the formation of perched aquifers within the landslide debris.
- भू-स्खलन के मलबे की भण्डारण क्षमता चट्टानों के सापेक्ष कही अधिक होती है / These aquifers provide significant water storage capacity compared to typical hard-rock Himalayan terrain.
- भू-स्खलन का मलबे के द्वारा प्रदान की जाने वाली विशिष्ट भू – वैज्ञानिक परिस्थितिया इन जल स्त्रोतों की उत्पत्ति का कारण है / The unique geological conditions created by a landslide (porous debris overlying a self-formed impervious layer) are key to this phenomenon.
- भू-स्खलन व जल स्त्रोतों की उत्पत्ति के मध्य के रिश्तो की समझ हमें इन महत्वपूर्ण संसाधन के संरक्षण के साथ ही हिमालयी क्षेत्र में जल संसाधन प्रबन्धन को सुदृढ़ बनाने का अवसर प्रदान करती है / Recognizing the hydrological importance of these geomorphic features is crucial for water resource management and protecting these valuable sources.
संता – बंता की यह जुगलबन्दी आपको कैसी लगी, कृपया हमें जरुर बताये
व
इस जुगलबन्दी को बेहतर बनाने के लिये अपने सुझाव अवश्य दें।
हमें हमेशा की तरह आपके सुझावों, प्रतिक्रियाओं व कटाक्षो का बेसब्री से इंतजार रहता हैं और सच मानिये इसी के आधार पर हम अपने आप में, अपनी सोच व रचनात्मकता में सुधार करने को प्रेरित होते हैं।
सो अच्छा – बुरा जैसा आपको महसूस हुवा हो, कमेंट जरुर करते रहें।
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