How rivers help us

Find out how rivers have helped people since ancient times.

In your book, Our Wondrous World (Chapter 2), the Godavari asks: since ancient times, people have built their homes near rivers or water bodies. Can you guess why? Because a river gives them the water they need, every single day.

The Godavari gives water to the people of many towns and villages. The water for houses, schools and fields comes from it. It helps people drink, cook and wash. It helps them grow food in their fields, and make things in their factories. Its water is carried in pipes and canals, and it is shared by many.

A river also gives people work, a livelihood. Farmers water their paddy fields with it. Fishermen catch fish in it, and people row boats on it.

Some people earn a living from ecotourism. Ecotourism means visiting natural places like forests, rivers or mountains to enjoy their beauty, watch animals or birds, and learn about nature, without harming the environment. Visitors who come to enjoy the river, like the people river rafting in your book, bring work to the people who live near it.

A river supports people with water for drinking, cooking and washing, for growing food and for factories, and with livelihoods such as farming, fishing, boating and ecotourism; its water is carried in pipes and canals and shared by many.

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