Villagers of three remote hamlets of drought-prone Palamu district have revived the unique rain water resource management system that had its origin during Chanakya days of Magadha, setting an example for the rest of the areas that face drought-like situation nearly every alternative year due to poor rainfall in this rain shadow zone of Jharkhand.
Known as Ahar Pyne system, small streams that drip from nearby hills are directed into a huge reservoir (Ahar), which is constructed right below the hills. Once the first Ahar gets filled up, overflowing water is redirected into another Ahar through a small canal (Pyne).
From the last Ahar, water is released into the agricultural lands of the farmers for growing crops like paddy and other food grains. The Ahar Pyne system had been conceived during Chanakya period to meet the situation in rain shadow zone like Palamu, and this continued in Undivided Bihar till upto 1980s.
But during this time, the Jawahar Rojgar Yojna had destroyed the system as the Pynes had been unmindfully converted into roads, according to the villagers. This system has now been revived by villagers of Kararkala, Kararkhurd and Kala Pahad—all hamlets located in Paton block of Palamu district, located about 40 kms west of district headquarters Daltonganj.
The villagers in their work had been aided by Welthungerhilfe, an organization of Germany under a project called Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) during 2011 to 2015. While a portion of the labour charge for the revival of the traditional rain water resource management system was paid by the organization, the villagers gave shram dan--free labour, for at least two days in a week.
“We set up the Ilaichi Ahar in 2012. Initially, the villagers did not believe that the Ahar will come up and the traditional rain water management system could be revived, but later we managed to convince them and they came out in hundreds to give their free labour. Slowly, we constructed the canals as well as other Ahars and the revival of the traditional rain water management system became a reality,” said Vinod Kumar, who led the villagers in the work.
“I donated a little more than an acre of my agricultural land for the purpose and we villagers constructed Ilaichi Ahar, just this below this Jataha Pahad,” said Kailash Singh Chero, the farmer of Kararkala, pointing to the hills. “In 2012, when the rains came, within half an hour the huge Aharin my land got filled up and for the first time in several years, we saw so much water in our village.”
Below the Ilaichi Ahar is constructed the next Ahar—Nauka, which is connected by a Pyne of about one km length. Below the Nauka Ahar is constructed the third Ahar known as Barka Ahar, from where water is released into the farmers’ lands. Now, the revived traditional system provides water for more than 3,000 acres of agricultural lands in three hamlets—Kararkala, Kararkhurd and Kala Pahad.
While the state government declared Palamu as drought-hit during the last consecutive years, villagers in these villages not only ensured water for their vast tracts of agricultural lands but also succeeded in retaining their fellow farmers who otherwise migrate to other places in search of livelihood even during monsoon. Their effort has also increased the water table of the area, saving wells that usually go dry during peak of summer, driving men, women and cattle-stock to hectic search for drinking water.
Not only this, the unique rain water conservation revival has also made farmers to taste fish cultivation—an occupation that they never knew for decades. Palamu is a drought-prone district of Jharkhand and average rainfall of the district is only about 800 mm when the state gets an average rainfall of 1200-1300 mm. Both the South-East monsoon coming from Bay of Bengal and South-West monsoon coming from Arabian Sea get blocked by the hill ranges that surround the district, leaving the farmers with perched lands.
As a result even during the monsoon, paddy and other water requiring crops of farmers fail. Thus, even during the monsoon farmers go out in search of livelihood to other states.
(The story is part of a Media Fellowship on 'Water')