Browsing by Author "CHAUHAN, SHALINI"
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ThesisItem Open Access INVENTORISATION OF WATER RESOURCES IN SOLAN DISTRICT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH(2013) CHAUHAN, SHALINI; BHARDWAJ, SATISH KUMARABSTRACT The investigation entitled “Inventorization of water resources in Solan District of Himachal Pradesh” was conducted during 2012-2013 in Solan Block, District Solan of Himachal Pradesh. To inventorize the water sources, survey was conducted as per prestructured performa. People’s perception was also recorded to verify the inventorisation. To find out the water quality four dominant land use systems namely industrial, urban/suburban, institutional and rural were studied. The collected water samples were analyzed for various parameters like pH, EC, BOD, COD, Ca2+, Mg2+ and Cl-. In Solan Block the total water sources recorded in the field were 3218. After recording the additional small scale sources in the region additional 34 sources was inventorised as compared to the official records. Out of the total water sources only 3070 are being commercially exploited for use in the region and a total of 499 handpumps were installed. Out of the total water sources in Solan District, 22% ground and 30% surface water sources were in Solan Block. The people perception indicated that out of 35 panchayats, seven panchayats have water deficiency. In Solan Block only 303.4 ha of total area is covered under 11 major irrigation schemes utilizing water from Nullahs, Khuds and Rivers. A total population of 62,753 in rural area of Solan Block has a water requirement of 43,92,710 liters per day whereas, that of urban population (37935) was 47,41,875 liters per day. The total water requirement of Solan Block comes recorded was 91,34,585 liters per day for a population of 1,00,688. The total water storage capacity in Solan Block is 52,13,122.28 gallons to meet the demand of 100688 inhabitants along with the water requirement for other purposes. But this capacity remains unutilized many times due to less water availability.. The pH of the water sources ranged from 7.24 to 7.92. The highest value of pH (7.92) was found in institutional landuse system. EC ranged from 0.41 to 0.92 dS/m. Maximum EC (0.92 dS/m) was found in institutional land use. The mean COD value of water was found to range from 63.75 to 111.08 mg/l. The highest COD (111.08 mg/l) was noticed under institutional land use. The BOD for water on an average ranged from 1.44 to 12.35 mg/l. Under industrial land use highest BOD (12.35 mg/l) was recorded. Value of Calcium content ranged from 51.28 to 90.48 mg/l and the maximum calcium content of 90.48 mg/l was under institutional land use. Magnesium of water sources on an average ranged from 26.87 to 37.76 mg/l. The maximum concentration of magnesium (37.76 mg/l) was found under industrial land use. The Cl- content of water sources of Solan block on an average ranged from 14.05 to 38.06 mg/l. The highest value of Cl- (38.06 mg/l) was recorded under institutional land use. Therefore, industrialization and institutionalization in Solan Block has resulted BOD, COD, Ca and Mg content in the water sources above WHO standards. Study indicated that industrialization and institutionalization have started impacting the water quality of Solan Block.ThesisItem Open Access SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT AND IDENTIFICATION OF ECOTOURISM SITES IN HIMACHAL PRADESH(UHF,NAUNI, 2021-11) CHAUHAN, SHALINI; BHARDWAJ, S KABSTRACT The investigation entitled “Sustainability Assessment and Identification of Ecotourism Sites in Himachal Pradesh" was conducted during the year 2018-2020 in the Department of Environment Science of Dr. YS Parmar University of horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan (HP). The study was aimed to assess the ongoing ecotourism activities in Himachal Pradesh for sustainability and further to identify new sites along with a strategic plan for viable establishment and development of ecotourism industry in the state. Sixteen ecotourism sites operating in People Public Partnership (PPP) and Departmental mode were assessed for sustainability by considering UNWTO indicators; carrying capacity and water quality. To further strengthen and expand the industry, study was also conducted to identify new potential areas for which five blocks were selected randomly. AHP technique along with remote sensing and GIS were used for the purpose. To develop strategies for the sustainable establishment, growth and expansion of the ecotourism industry SWOT technique was applied. Amongst the PPP sites Aamod, Shoghi with a mean rank of 53.33 was found to be the least sustainable while Pine Hills Eco-Camp, Chewa with a mean rank of 26.83 was found to be the most sustainable. Amongst the Departmental sites, Ecotourism Site at Paneo (50.28) was least sustainable and Ecotourism Site, Prashar (26.67) was found to be the most sustainable. Overall, PPP sites with a mean rank of 8.11 were found to be more sustainable than the Department ecotourism sites with a mean rank of 10.89. Out of the total selected sustainability indicators potable water demand with a total indicator score of 28 was highly impacted and local employment indicator (15) was found to be least affected by PPP ecotourism activities. Correspondingly, energy consumption and waste management indicator were found to be highly impacted by Departmental activities with a total indicator score of 30 each while bio-capacity (17) was observed to be least impacted. Departmental sites have higher ECC (1150 visitors-day) than the PPP sites with ECC of 368 visitors-day. The ECC amongst the PPP sites ranged from 143 visitors-day for Nature Camp, Narkanda to 1079 visitors-day for Park Woods, Aanji. For Departmental sites the ECC ranged from 120 visitors-day for Ecotourism Site, Prashar to 3635 visitors-day for Ecotourism Site, Kasol. With the current rate of tourist inflow in the state, the sustainability status of the ecotourism sites in terms of carrying capacity may start to deteriorate in the next 26-27 years on account of inefficient management capacity. Ecotourism sites in Himachal Pradesh have wide scope of improvement and accommodating more tourists in terms of ECC. The water quality parameters were found well within the permissible limit. Amongst the blocks selected for identifying new ecotourism areas, Sangrah was found to have maximum area (11.16%) and Chirgaun to have minimum area (3.05%) under highly suitable class that accounts for around 53.41 km2 and 30.18 km2 of the total block area respectively. The southern aspect area falling under grassland LULC with slope less than 15o, having a perennial water source within 1.5 km and surrounding population size of less than 150 can be developed into an ecotourism site. For sustainable development of ecotourism industry in the state, SWOT analysis indicated need for strengthening adoption of renewable energy sources, environment friendly infrastructure, scientific waste management, establishing and developing new potential ecotourism sites along with enhancing community involvement in terms of decision making, employment and other ecotourism activities. Furthermore, multi-sectoral approach for planning, implementation and monitoring along with planned promotion and marketing will boost the ecotourism industry in the region. It is concluded from the study that the state ecotourism industry has great potential for expansion, the sustainability of which may be ensured by the adoption of environment cordial practices.