Page 136 - Volt Elevate The World Around Us Book 4

Challenges in Mountains, Hills and Valleys

The Himalayas face extremely cold winters with heavy snowfall. People in places like
Leh and Ladakh find it difficult to travel or even access basic needs during winter. Roads
are narrow and winding, and often get blocked by landslides or snow. This makes it

hard to transport goods and people. For example, in Kashmir Valley, people face regular
landslides, floods and snowstorms that affect their livelihood and tourism industry. Due

to rocky soil and steep slopes, agriculture is very limited. In such places, terrace farming
is practised, but crops are fewer compared to plains.

Challenges in Plateaus

Many parts of the Deccan Plateau, especially in Maharashtra and Karnataka, face

droughts because rivers are rain-fed. For example, in Vidarbha (Maharashtra), farmers
face frequent droughts, which leads to poor crop yield and financial distress. The soil
in plateau areas is less fertile compared to plains, so farming is not always productive

in such places. Also, some plateau regions are remote and lack proper road and rail
connections.

Challenges in Plains

Since plains are flat and rivers flow through them, they are prone to flooding during

heavy rains. The Ganga Plains often experience devastating floods. For example, in
Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, floods of the Ganga and Kosi rivers destroy homes and crops

almost every year. Since these plains are fertile, they attract more people which leads to
overcrowding, pollution and exploitation of resources. Moreover, increase in population
leads to industrial growth in plain regions. This causes air and water pollution which

affects human and soil health.

Challenges in Deserts

The most common challenge faced by the people living in desert areas is scarcity of
water. In the Thar Desert (Rajasthan), people struggle to get drinking water and water for

crops. For example, villages in Jaisalmer depend on tankas (underground water storage)
and camels for transport due to the lack of modern infrastructure. Also, it is very hot in

summers and cold in winters, which makes living uncomfortable for people. Due to the
weather and climate, only drought-resistant crops like bajra (millet) can be grown there.
Thus, agriculture is highly dependent on rainfall.

Terrace farming: A technique for growing crops on sloped land by creating series of flat, step-like platforms

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