Give various methods of rainwater harvesting since ancient times.
Answer:
- Guls or Kuls: In hilly and mountainous regions, people built diversion channels called Kuls or Guls in the Western Himalayas. A Kul or Gul leads to a circular village tank, from which water is released as and when required.
- Inundation Channels: In the flood plains of Bengal, people developed inundation channels to irrigate their fields.
- Khadins and Johads: In arid and semi-arid regions, agricultural fields were converted into rain fed storage structures that allowed the water to stand and moisten the soil, called ‘Khadins’ in Jaisalmer and ‘Johads’ in other parts of Rajasthan.
- Tankas: In Bikaner, Phalodi and Barmer of Rajasthan, almost all the houses traditionally had underground tanks or tankas for storing drinking water.