Social Holiday

Homework
Varsha Arun VIII-A
Roll no 2
 Saving the Elixir
of Life
Water harvesting methods in different
The chemical compound which is not parts of India
just a drink but a fluid which helps
living organisms….
 Rainwater harvesting is the collection and
storage of rain, rather than allowing it to
run off.

How many types of harvesting are

there in India?

There are three main types of

rainwater harvesting system: direct
pumped, indirect pumped, and
indirect gravity. 3

Water Harvesting
India’s rich tradition of water harvesting systems

The practice of harvesting rainwater dates back to Vedic times

when the need to create water sources that would remain both
clean and provide plentifully was recognized.
Rivers were the obvious location of civilizations, and different
civilizations utilized them in different ways. Early people cut
channels, diverted rivers, and farmed their regions. Wells had been
dug in the cities of the Indus – Sarasvati Valley by the third
millennium B.C., while the “Great Bath” was probably a water
storage tank. The Indus Valley cities had excellent systems of water
harvesting and drainage. Dholavira, laid out on a slope between
two storm water channels, is an example of sophisticated
engineering

Tanks in the Indus – Sarasvati Valley

The excavations at Harappa and Mohenjodaro reveal

deep rectangular constructions that were probably the 4
earliest tanks built in India.

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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Khadin
A khadin, also called a dhora, is an
ingenious construction designed to
harvest surface runoff water for
agriculture
Its main feature is a very long (100-300 m) earthen
embankment built across the lower hill slopes lying below
gravelly uplands. Sluices and spillways allow excess water to
drain off. The khadin system is based on the principle of
harvesting rainwater on farmland and subsequent use of this
water-saturated land for crop production.
First designed by the Paliwal Brahmins of Jaisalmer, western
Rajasthan in the 15th century, this system has great similarity
with the irrigation methods of the people of Ur (present Iraq)
around 4500 BC and later of the Nabateans in the Middle East.
A similar system is also reported to have been practised 4,000
years ago in the Negev desert, and in southwestern Colorado
500 years ago
The embankment not only helps to increase moisture in the
submerged land, but also prevents the washing away of the
top soil and the manure added to it
Other than improving socio-economic conditions of desert
6
dwellers, Khadins also have created positive impact on the
ecology of the region, effectively checking soil erosion and
increasing vegetation cover.

These wells were initiated on a partnership basis.
With multiple users, these saza kuvas were
primarily used for irrigation. A group of farmers
usually had one made amongst themselves.
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. 7
 Jhalaras
Jhalaras are typically rectangular-shaped stepwells that have
tiered steps on three or four sides. These stepwells collect the
subterranean seepage of an upstream reservoir or a lake.
Jhalaras were built to ensure easy and regular supply of water
for religious rites, royal ceremonies and community use. The
city of Jodhpur has eight jhalaras, the oldest being the
Mahamandir Jhalara that dates back to 1660 AD.

Panam Keni
The Kuruma tribe (a native tribe of Wayanad) uses a special
type of well, called the panam keni, to store water. Wooden
cylinders are made by soaking the stems of toddy palms in
water for a long time so that the core rots away until only the
hard outer layer remains. These cylinders, four feet in diameter
as well as depth, are then immersed in groundwater springs
located in fields and forests. This is the secret behind how 8
these wells have abundant water even in the hottest summer
months.
Zings
Regions of Indian sub-continent which relies majorly on glacier
water, like Ladakh, work with a network of guiding channels
called Zings, that can bring the melting glacier water into the
tanks. Chirpun is an authoritative water official, designated to
check for the equitable distribution of water throughout the
fields of the region under his authority.

Nadis
Found near Jodhpur in Rajasthan, nadis are village ponds that store
rainwater collected from adjoining natural catchment areas. The
location of a nadi has a strong bearing on its storage capacity and
hence the site of a nadi is chosen after careful deliberation of its
catchment and runoff characteristics. Since nadis received their
water supply from erratic, torrential rainfall, large amounts of sandy
sediments were regularly deposited in them, resulting in quick
siltation. A local voluntary organisation, the Mewar Krishak Vikas
9
Samiti (MKVS) has been adding systems like spillways and silt traps
to old nadis and promoting afforestation of their drainage basin to
prevent siltation..

Eri
The Eri (tank) system of Tamil
Nadu is one of the oldest water
management systems in India.
The Eri (tank) system of Tamil Nadu is one of the oldest water
management systems in India. Still widely used in the state,
eris act as flood-control systems, prevent soil erosion and
wastage of runoff during periods of heavy rainfall, and also
recharge the groundwater. Eris can either be a system eri,
which is fed by channels that divert river water, or a non-
system eri, that is fed solely by rain. The tanks are
interconnected in order to enable access to the farthest village
and to balance the water level in case of excess supply. The eri
system enables the complete use of river water for irrigation
and without them, paddy cultivation would have been
impossible in Tamil Nadu
It has two variants:
•A system which is fed by channels that divert river water,
•A system that is fed solely by rain.
The Eri system enables the complete use of water for
irrigation. Its interconnected structure has made it to reach the 10
farthest villages of Tamil Nadu.
Rainwater Harvesting as State and Central
Government Policy
More or less all states in India, through various legislative decisions, have made
rainwater harvesting mandatory in government institutions, commercial
complexes, and residential high-rises. Some of these laws have already come into
effect, and others are soon to follow.
The Central Ministry for Drinking Water and Sanitation, in association with the
Central Ground Water Board, and a battery of groundwater scientists and experts,
has also prepared a conceptual document called the ‘Master Plan for Artificial
Recharge to Ground Water in India’.
The master plan, related to rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge of
groundwater, envisages the construction of about 23 lakh rainwater harvesting
structures in rural areas, and close to 88 lakh artificial recharge and rainwater
harvesting installations in urban centres.
Since natural resources like rainwater come free of cost, it seems like modern
human beings forgot its valuable contribution, and the need to save it. Green living
with new water-saving technologies and lifestyle is also catching on. In a world that
is reeling under extreme water crisis, cities and communities across the globe will 11

have to become more aware of rainwater harvesting, storing, and consciously using
water.
Here is a video on Japan’s ‘underground
temple’ protecting Tokyo from floods

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Water conservation video

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Varsha Arun,VIII-A