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- Recently, urged all Indians to take collective action to conserve water and requested to share traditional methods of water conservation. The following are few traditional methods of water conservation in India:
- Naula (Uttarakhand): It is a naturally-occurring water aquifer. It is a stone-lined tank which catches dripping water from springs and streams. Sculptures of Lord Vishnu or any local deity are usually carved onto the walls of the Naula to declare it a sacred site and prevent it from being polluted.
- Tankas (Rajasthan): It is a cylindrical paved underground pit into which rainwater from rooftops, courtyards or artificially prepared catchments flows.
- Surangas (Kerala): It is basically a tunnel dug through a laterite hillock through which water seeps out and into the tunnel.
- Ahar Pynes (Bihar): Ahars are reservoirs with embankments on three sides that are built at the end of diversion channels. Pynes are artificial rivulets led off from rivers to collect water in the ahars for irrigation in the dry months.
- Panam Keni (Waynad, Kerala): 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, are then immersed in groundwater springs located in fields and forests.
- Zing (Ladakh): They are small tanks that collect melting glacier water. A network of guiding channels brings water from the glacier to the tank.
