This is the first of 4 parts of presentation showing Traditional water harvesting system prevailing in North and North-Eastern parts of India.Over a period of time these have become defunct in general.However the same needs to be revived to create local sources.

1. TRADITIONAL WATER
HARVESTING
IN
INDIA Part I
WATER MANAGEMENT FORUM
The Institution of Engineers (India)
http://www.wmf-iei.org/index.php/
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2. EASTERN HIMALAYAS
AND NORTH EAST
HILLS
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3. ZABO
The zabo (the word means ‘impounding run-off') system is practiced in
Nagaland in north-eastern India.
Also known as the ruza system, it combines water conservation with
forestry, agriculture and animal care.
The Zabo system consists of a protected forestland towards the top of the
hill, water-harvesting tanks in the middle and cattle yard and paddy fields
at the lower side.
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4. APATANI
The Apatani plateau occupies about 27 sq km area located at an altitude of about 1525 m
above mean sea level in the humid tropic climate of the Lower Subansiri district of
Arunachal Pradesh.
The farmers grow wet rice, integrated with fish culture in terraces and finger millets on the
risers/terrace bunds. prepared in the main valley are quite broad, perfectly levelled and
provided with strong bunds. The slope of land in the main valley ranges between 1-8%.
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5. Bamboo Drip Irrigation
• Practised mainly in the Jaintia and Khasi Hills of Meghalaya for the last 200 years.
• Useful in a place where there is water scarcity and soils are poor in water holding
capacity, the topography is rocky and undulating and irrigation is required for crops that
need relatively less water.
• Achieved by having holes at appropriate points. Water is conveyed to the site of actual
use without leakage and loss on the way.
• Water distribution is done with the use of bamboo channels, bamboo supports, water
diversion pipes and strips. The whole system enables the distribution of 15 to 25 litres of
water per minute depending on the availability of water resource and the number of plants
to be irrigated.
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6. WESTERN
HIMALAYAS
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7. KUHL • Farmers have had a major tradition of
building canals aligned roughly with contours
to draw water from hill streams or springs.
• Known as kuhls, vary from 1 to 15 kms.
•Kuhls are surface channels diverting water
from natural flowing streams called khuds and
run at a higher elevation than the stream to
irrigate more upstream lands than the khud
itself.
• A kuhl would have a trapezoidal cross
section, 0.1 to 0.2 square meters in area,
• Usually conveys a discharge of around 15 to 100 liters per second. Many kuhls
collect rainwater and snow melt running of the slopes above them
• occasionally it is possible to find a kuhl whose discharge increase along its
length.
•This is a traditional irrigation system in the lower belts of Himachal Pradesh like
Kangra, Mandi, Hamirpur.
• A typical community kuhl services six to 30 farmers, irrigating an area of about
20 ha. The kuhls were constructed and maintained by the village community.
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8. Naula
• Naula is a surface-water harvesting
method typical to the hill areas of
Uttaranchal.
• These are small wells or ponds in which
water is collected by making a stone wall
across a stream. They are primarily used
for drinking purpose.
• Big shady trees were planted surrounding
Naula to reduce evaporation.
• Naulas are common water harvesting
structure in Kumaon, but less developed
in Garhwal which is blessed with perennial
rivers.
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9. Khatri • Khatris are structures, about 10x12 feet in size
and six feet deep hand-hewn caves carved out
in the hard rock mountain.
• Specially trained masons construct them at a
cost of Rs 10,000-20,000 each.
• These are found in Hamirpur, Kangra and
Mandi districts of Himachal Pradesh.
• The basic purpose is not to harvest the surface
run off but the rainwater that flows through
the rocks and soils of hilly regions.
• In rainy season, water drops down
continuously from the roof of the khatri which
amounts to approximately 40-50 buckets/ day.
• Usually the capacity of a khatri varies between
30,000 to 50,000 liters.
• Different khatris can be dug on a particular hill
but at the same level.
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10. TRANS HIMALAYAN
REGION
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11. Zings • Ladakh is a dryland where cultivation is very
difficult
• Entire cultivated area of 19,000 ha depends
on irrigation from the waters of melting
snow through long, winding streams from
upper mountain reaches.
• At sowing time, it is still cold, water from
the snow-melt is very limited.
• Owing to short growing period, all farmers
need irrigation almost at the same time.
• Water is diverted from streams with the
help of guiding channels.
• Towards the evening, it is taken to a small
tank, locally known as a zing.
• The stored glacier water is used the
following day in the fields. Each village has a
large network of canals and zings. 11

12. KUL
• Kuls are water channels found in
precipitous mountain areas. These
channels carry water from glaciers to
villages in the Spiti valley of Himachal
Pradesh & Jammu.
• Where the terrain is muddy, the kul is
lined with rocks to keep it from
becoming clogged.
• Some kuls are 10 km long, and have
existed for centuries.
• The crucial portion of a kul is its head at
the glacier, which is to be tapped. This
must be kept free of debris.
• In the village, the kul leads to a circular
tank from which the flow of water can be
regulated.
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13. BRAHMPUTRA
VALLEY
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14. Dongs • The Dong system is traditionally prevalent
among the Bodo people in Assam and North
Bengal, which ensures provision of water for
mainly wet paddy cultivation, Xali variety, in
cultivating lands
– where rainwater is not sufficient or
– due to higher altitude and
– soil type with low water retention capacity.
• The main features of the Dong system are
sustainable use of available natural water
resources, and largely traditional community
norm based governance.
• Dongs are akin to canals, to route water from
available water sources, which are usually
perennial, to the paddy cultivating fields.
• The water sources are small rivers, perennial
swamps, beel, streams, etc.
• Dong can have a breadth of 7-15 feet on
average or even more. Breadth gradually
increases over the course of its flow from the
source till the end point, where it meets larger
river bodies. 14

15. EASTERN
HIGHLANDS
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16. Katas /
Mundas
/ Bundhas
• These were the main irrigation sources in the ancient
tribal kingdom of the Gonds (now in Orissa and MP).
• Most of these katas were built by village headmen.
• Kata is an ordinary irrigation tank, built by strong
earthen embankment, slightly curved at either end
across a drainage line to hold fast flowing sheet of
water. Undulations of the country usually determine its
shape.
• It commands a valley, bottom of which is bahal land
and the sides of which are the mal terraces. There is a
cutting high up the slope near one end.
• From this, water is led either by small channel or
tal, from field to field along terraces, down its way to
land at lower levels.
• In years when irrigation is not needed, surplus water is
passed along until it falls into the nullah in which the
small valley ends. Such tanks supply water to at least 5
acres and usually to an area of 30 to 200 acres. 16

17. • Munda is an embankment of smaller size
across a drainage channel.
• Embankments of this sort are very
common, as they can easily be constructed by
the raiyats (individual farmers) themselves for
the benefit of their own holding.
• The munda can be useful in case the rainfall
deficit is not very major.
• The munda usually serves small land holdings.
• Bundh is a four sided tank excavated below
the kata from which it derives its water by
percolation.
• They are invariably used for drinking purposes
only and are properly regarded as suitable
monuments of piety or charity and are
invariably consecrated or married to a god
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