NCERT Solutions for Class 5th The World Around Us Chapter 2 How people depend on the Godavari — In-text Questions

Book page 25–26 Updated on2026-09-19

Q1.

List three ways in which people are dependent on the river Godavari.

Answer

Three ways, from the chapter itself:

For water at home. The water for houses and schools in the towns and villages around her comes from her. People drink it, cook with it and wash with it.
For growing food. Her water reaches the fields through canals and pipes, so farmers can grow their crops.
For work and earning. She supports many livelihoods — fishing, boating, farming, and factories that need water to make things.

Two more, if you want them: she gives water to make electricity at her dams, and she brings visitors for ecotourism.

Why this is called “depending on” the river: Depending means you cannot manage without it. If the Godavari stopped flowing for even a week, the taps, the fields, the fishing boats and the factories along her would all stop together. That is what dependence means.

Remember: “When you open a tap, it is hard to imagine the journey that water has taken.” That one sentence from page 27 is the whole idea of this chapter.

Q2.

In which occupations are people engaged near the river Godavari?

Answer

Mainly farming, fishing and boating — and along with them, work in factories and work with visitors. An occupation is simply the work a person does to earn a living.

Occupation	What the person does	How the river helps
Farmer	Grows paddy and other crops in the fields beside the river	Gives water for irrigation through canals and pumps
Fisherman	Catches fish with a net or a line	The river and its delta are full of fish
Boatman / ferry worker	Rows or drives boats carrying people and goods	The river is the road
Factory worker	Works where things are made	Factories need a lot of water
Ecotourism guide, boat-safari and rafting worker	Takes visitors to see the river, the forest and the birds	People come because the river and its wildlife are beautiful
Washerman, potter, sand and brick worker	Washing, making pots, collecting river sand	All of these need river water or river soil

Why so many different jobs in one place: A river gives more than one kind of gift. It gives water, it gives soil, it gives fish, and it gives a smooth path to travel on. Each gift makes a different kind of work possible, so many families can earn from the same river.

Q3.

Which crops do you see growing near the Godavari?

Answer

In the picture on page 25, the crop being grown is paddy — that is, rice.

Look at the picture carefully. This is how you can tell:

The field is flooded — there is a thin sheet of water standing over the soil. Paddy is grown in standing water.
The plants are thin green shoots standing in the water, planted in rows.
The farmers are bent over, pushing small bunches of seedlings into the mud. This is called transplanting, and it is done only for paddy.
Bundles of spare green seedlings are lying ready on the field.
A man is standing in the river and lifting water into the field with a basket, and a hose pipe runs from the river to the field. The river is watering the crop.

Other crops grown in the Godavari's basin: sugarcane, banana, coconut, cotton, maize, pulses (dal) and groundnut. The delta area in Andhra Pradesh is famous for rice and coconut.

Why so much rice here: Rice needs a great deal of water and flat land with soft, rich soil. A river gives all three — plenty of water, flat plains, and soil that the river itself has spread over the land. That is why the land near a big river is usually the best rice land in a state.

Q4.

Which crops grow in your region? Where does the water for irrigation come from?

Answer

This answer depends on where you live, so first here is how to find out, and then a model answer you can change to fit your own place.

How to find out:

Ask a farmer, a grandparent, or the vegetable seller in your market which crops are grown in the fields around your town or village.
Ask which crop is grown in the rainy season and which one after it. Most places grow two different crops in a year.
Ask the second question separately: where does the water for the fields come from? A canal? A well or borewell? A tank or pond? Or only the rain?
Write your answers in two short lists. Take a walk and see the fields yourself if you can.

Sample answer: “In my region the main crops are paddy in the rainy season and wheat and gram in the winter. Farmers also grow mustard, and vegetables such as brinjal, tomato and okra near the village. The water for irrigation comes from a canal that carries water from the dam on our river, and from tube wells in the fields. In the rainy season the rain itself is often enough, so the canal is used mostly from November onwards.”

Kind of place	Crops usually grown	Where irrigation water comes from
River plain or delta	Paddy, sugarcane, banana	Canals from a dam on the river
Dry inland area	Jowar, bajra, cotton, pulses	Wells, borewells, farm ponds; mostly rain
Hilly area	Maize, millets, vegetables	Small streams and spring channels
Coastal area	Rice, coconut, groundnut	Canals, tanks and rain

Why the two questions go together: A crop is chosen to match the water available. Where there is a canal, farmers can grow thirsty crops like paddy and sugarcane. Where there is only rain and a well, they grow crops that need less water, like bajra or gram. Water decides the crop.

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