Analysis Of Kurukshetra Magazine: Water Harvesting Techniques in India Part 1

Kurukshetra is a Monthly Magazine which is issued by the Publications Division of the GOI.

Kurukshetra Magazine is one of the most important and indispensable source for UPSC Civil Services Exam Preparation. Keeping this in mind, here, we come with ”Analysis Of Kurukshetra Magazine” on daily basis, which covers the monthly Kurukshetra Magazine in easy and smooth pointed form, keeping in mind the demand of UPSC aspirants.

Considering the stern need of awareness regarding water resource management, the theme of this July 2022 special issue of Kurukshetra is Water Resources.

Water Harvesting Techniques in India: Introduction

• Our ancestors had designed and developed hundreds of water harvesting systems in different parts of the country.
• They may have different names like johads, ahars, bawdis, talabs, vavs, eris, and others. But their underlying theme has remained same “save water with public participation”.

Water Harvesting Techniques in India: What is Water Harvesting?

• Water harvesting may be defined as a deliberate collection and storage of water that runs off on natural or manmade catchment areas.
• Catchment may include rooftops, compounds, rocky surface or hill slopes or artificially prepared impervious/ semi-pervious land surface.
• The amount of water harvested depends on the frequency and intensity of the rainfall, catchment characteristics, water demands and how much runoff occurs and how quickly or how easy it is for the water to infiltrate through the subsoil and percolate down to recharge the aquifers.

Water Harvesting Techniques in India: Ancient Traditions

• The practice of harvesting rainwater dates back to Vedic times.
• Sage Narada, in Mahabharata, advises Yudhishthira to excavate large lakes to store water and make cultivation independent of rainwater.
• Dams built of stone rubble were found in Baluchistan and Kutch dating back to 2000 BC.
• We have evidences of dams, lakes and irrigation systems in the time of the Mauryas. Kautilya’s Arthashastra mentions irrigation using water harvesting systems.
• A refined water harvesting system of first century BC was found at Sringaverapura near Prayagraj. It contained floodwaters of River Ganga in a fully brick lined tank that is 800 feet long, 60 feet wide and 12 feet deep.
• In South India, great Karikala Chola built a Grand Anicut or kallanai across the river Cauvery to divert water for irrigation in second century AD. This system is still functional. South India has a long tradition of such anicuts.
• In Central India, King Bhoja of Bhopal built one of the largest artificial lake, measuring approximately 65,000 acres fed by streams and springs in 11th century.
• In North India, poet and historian Kalhana in his 12th-century chronicle Rajatarangini describes a well-maintained irrigation system in Kashmir.

Few water harvesting techniques in North East India

Bamboo Pipes

Bamboo pipes are used to divert water of springs on the hilltops to the lower regions by gravity. Bamboos of varying diameters are used for laying the channels.

Apatani

The water harvesting system is called Apatani because the Apatani tribes of the lower Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh practice it. Apatani is a wet rice cultivation cum fish farming system practiced in elevated hilly regions and gentle sloping valleys of Northeast India. Apatani can tap the water of small streams and springs in these high rainfall hilly regions through their temporary walls. These walls act as barriers and can divert the flow of water towards terraced and valley lands.

Zabo

The Zabo literally means ‘impounding run-off’. It is an ingenious method of catching rainwater from running off the mountains. This system is practiced in Nagaland. Like other traditional water harvesting methods in hills, Zabo also combines water conservation with forestry, agriculture and animal care and promotes soil management, environmental protection and sustainable water management.

Cheo-ozihi

Angami tribe of Nagaland practices this system. In this system, a long channel carries the river water. From this channel, many branches take off, and water is often diverted to the terraces through bamboo pipes. The channel is called Cheooziihi. Oziihi means water and Cheo was the person responsible for the laying of this 8-10 km long channel with its numerous branches. The channels are maintained and cleared each year by the local community.

Dongs and ponds

Dongs are ponds constructed by the Bodo tribes of Assam in the Brahmaputra valley to harvest water for irrigation. Water was lifted from the ponds and distributed into the fields by an instrument called lahoni. The ponds were individually owned and there was no community involvement for digging and maintenance.

Garh and Dara

These are also rainwater-harvesting techniques practiced in Assam from the ancient time. A Garh is built to channelise river water to the agricultural field. A Garh is like a big nala, where both sides of the nala have big and long embankment and the middle side is left open to water flow. In the paddy field, the whole area is divided into small pieces in square size, creating small embankments, called Dara, where rain water is stored for cultivation.

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