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Paar system: Paar is a common
water harvesting practice in the western Rajasthan region. It is
a common place where the rainwater flows from the agar (catchment)
and in the process percolates into the sandy soil. In order to access
the rajani pani (percolated water) kuis or beris are dug in the
agor (storage area). Kuis or beris are normally 5 metres (m) to
12 m deep. The structure was constructed through traditional masonary
technology. Normally six to ten of them are constructed in a paar.
However depending on the size of the paar the numbers of kuis or
beris are decided. Bhatti mentions that there are paars in Jaisalmer
district where there are more than 20 kuis are in operation. This
is the most predominant form of rainwater harvesting in the region.
Rainwater harvested through PAAR technique is known as Patali paani.
See also:
Jethu Singh
Bhatti
Manapia
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Talab
/ Bandhis
Talabs are reservoirs. They may be natural, such as the ponds
(pokhariyan) at Tikamgarh in the Bundelkhand region. They can
be human-made, such the lakes in Udaipur. A reservoir area of less
than five bighas is called a talai; a medium sized lake
is called a bandhi or talab; bigger lakes are called
sagar or samand. The pokhariyan serve irrigation
and drinking purposes. When the water in these reserviors dries up
just a few days after the monsoon, the pond beds are cultivated with
rice. |
Saza
Kuva
An open well with multiple owners (saza = partner), saza
kuva is the most important source of irrigation in the Aravalli
hills in Mewar, eastern Rajasthan. The soil dug out to make the well
pit is used to construct a huge circular foundation or an elevated
platform sloping away from the well. The first is built to accomodate
the rehat, a traditional water lifting device; the sloping
platform is for the chada, in which buffaloes are used to lift
water. Saza kuva construction is generally taken up by a group
of farmers with adjacent landholdings; a harva, a man with special
skills in groundwater detection, helps fix the site.
Johad
Johads are small earthen check dams that capture and conserve
rainwater, improving percolation and groundwater recharge. Starting
1984, the last sixteen years have seen the revival of some 3000 johads
spread across more than 650 villages in Alwar district, Rajasthan.
This has resulted in a general rise of the groundwater level by almost
6 metres and a 33 percent increase in the forest cover in the area.
Five rivers that used to go dry immediately following the monsoon
have now become perennial, such as the River Arvari, has come alive.
Pat
Bhitada village , Jhabua district of Madhya pradesh developed the
unique pat system. This system was devised according to the peculiarities
of the terrain to divert water from swift-flowing hill streams into
irrigation channels called pats.
The diversion bunds across the stream are made by piling up stones
and then lining them with teak leaves and mud to make them leakproof.
The pat channel has to negotiate small nullahs that join the stream
off and on, and also sheer cliffs before reaching the fields. These
sections invariably get washed away during the monsoons. Stone aqueducts
have to be built to span the intervening nullahs.
The villagers irrigate their fields by turns. The channel requires
constant maintenance and it is the duty of the family irrigating the
fields on a particular day to take care of the pat on that particular
day. It takes about two weeks to get the pat flowing and the winter
crop is sown in early November.
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Naada
/ Bandha
Naada/bandha are found in the Mewar region of the Thar desert.
It is a stone check dam, constructed across a stream or gully, to
capture monsoon runoff on a stretch of land. Submerged in water, the
land becomes fertile as silt deposits on it and the soil retains substantial
amounts of water. |
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Rapat
A rapat is a percolation tank, with a bund to impound rainwater
flowing through a watershed and a waste weir to dispose of the surplus
flow. If the height of the structure is small, the bund may be built
of masonary, otherwise earth is used. Rajasthan rapats, being small,
are all masonry structures. Rapats and percolation tanks do not directly
irrigate land, but recharges well within a distance of 3-5 km downstream.
Silting is a serious problem with small rapats and the estimated life
of a rapat varies from 5 to 20 years. |
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Chandela
Tank
These tanks were constructed by stopping the flow of water in
rivulets flowing between hills by erecting massive earthen embankments,
having width of 60m or more. These hills with long stretches of quartz
reefs running underneath them, acted as natural ground water barrier
helping to trap water between the ridges. The earthen embankments
were supported on both sides with walls of coarse stones, forming
a series of stone steps. These tanks are made up of lime and mortar
and this is the reason why these tanks survived even after thousand
years but the only problem, which these tanks are facing, is siltation
of tank beds. Chandela tanks usually had a convex curvature somewhere
in the middle of the embankment; many older and smaller tanks were
constructed near the human settlement or near the slopes of a cluster
of hills. These tanks served to satisfy the drinking water needs of
villagers and cattle. |
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Bundela
Tank
These tanks are bigger in size as compared to
Chandela tanks. These tanks had solidly constructed steps leading
to water in the tank; But these structures had chabootaras, pavillions
and royal orchards designed to show off the glory of the king who
built them. But these tanks are not as cost effective and simple as
Chandela tanks. These tanks were constructed to meet the growing water
demands in the area, maintenance of these tanks was done by the person
employed by the king but in case of smaller tanks villagers collectively
removed silt and repair embankment. |
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Kunds
/ Kundis
A kund or kundi looks like an upturned cup nestling
in a saucer. These structures harvest rainwater for drinking, and
dot the sandier tracts of the Thar Desert in western Rajasthan and
some areas in Gujarat.
Essentially a circular underground well, kunds have a saucer-shaped
catchment area that gently slopes towards the centre where the well
is situated. A wire mesh across water-inlets prevents debris from
falling into the well-pit. The sides of the well-pit are covered
with (disinfectant) lime and ash. Most pits have a dome-shaped cover,
or at least a lid, to protect the water. If need be, water can be
drawn out with a bucket. The depth and diameter of kunds
depend on their use (drinking, or domestic water requirements).
They can be owned by only those with money to invest and land to
construct it. Thus for the poor, large public kunds have
to be built.
Also see Ran
Singh who makes kunds
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Kuis
/ Beris
Found in western Rajasthan, these are 10-12 m deep pits dug near
tanks to collect the seepage. Kuis can also be used to harvest
rainwater in areas with meagre rainfall.
The mouth of the pit is usually made very narrow. This prevents
the collected water from evaporating. The pit gets wider as it burrows
underunder the ground, so that water can seep in into a large surface
area. The openings of these entirely kuchcha (earthen) structures
are generally covered with planks of wood, or put under lock and
key. The water is used sparingly, as a last resource in crisis situations.
Magga Ram Suthar, of village Pithla in Jaisalmer district in Rajasthan,
is an engineer skilled in making kuis/beris.
Also see Magga
Ram Suthar who has mastered the art of making beris
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Baoris
/ Bers
Baoris or bers are community wells, found in Rajasthan,
that are used mainly for drinking. Most of them are very old and were
built by banjaras (mobile trading communities) for their drinking
water needs. They can hold water for a long time because of almost
negligible water evaporation. |
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Jhalaras
Jhalaras were human-made tanks, found in Rajasthan and Gujarat,
essentially meant for community use and for religious rites. Often
rectangular in design, jhalaras have steps on three or four
sides.
Jhalars areground water bodies which are built to ensure easy &
regular supply of water to the surrounding areas .
the jhalars are rectangular in shape with steps on three or even on
all the four sides of the tank . the steps are built on a series of
levels .
The jhalaras collect subterranean seepage of a talab or a lake located
upstream .
The water from these jhalaras was not used for drinking but for only
community bathing and religious rites .
Jhodhpur city has eight jhalaras two of which are inside the town
& six are found outside the city .
The oldest jhalara is the mahamandir jhalara which dates back to 1660
AD
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Nadis
Nadis are village ponds, found near Jodhpur in Rajasthan. They
are used for storing waterfrom an adjoining natural catchment during
the rainy season. The site was selected by the villagers based on
an available natural catchments and its water yield potential. Water
availability from nadi would range from two months to a year after
the rains. They are dune areas range from 1.5 to 4.0 metres and those
in sandy plains varied from 3 to 12 metres. The location of the nadi
had a strong bearing on its storage capacity due to the related catchment
and runoff characteristics. |
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Tobas
Tobas is the local name given to a ground depression with a natural
catchment area. A hard plot of land with low porosity, consisting
of a depression and a natural catchment area was selected for the
construction of tobas.
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