Tank Irrigation- Challenges

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Tank Irrigation- Challenges Options

• By
• Praful Ranjan Roll No.- 28
• Rohit Arya Roll No.- 40

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Defining Tank Irrigation

• Technically, a tank can be described as a
  miniature version of a large dam.
• Water is impounded behind an earthen embankment
  to be released through sluices into canals to be
  further distributed to irrigated lands.

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Timeline For Emergence Decline of Tank Irrigation Timeline For Emergence Decline of Tank Irrigation
Origin of Water Harvesting to Irrigation Structures Origin of Water Harvesting to Irrigation Structures
Ramayan Mentioned two lakes- Panchapsarotataka Pamasaras
1500 B.C. Earliest evidence of water reservoirs in the Deccan plateau
300 B.C. Water scarcity was felt during Sangam Period
230 B.C. Satavahanas kindom- existence of lakes tanks
350 A.D. Kadamba ruler Mayura Varma constructed a tank at Chandravelli near Chitradurga
430-450 A.D. Kakusthavarama constructed in Talagunda tank in Shimoga district in front of Pranaveswar temple
485-519 A.D. Kadamba king Ravi Varma excavated a big tank called Guddatataka in Uttara Kannada district
600-639 A.D. Pallavas in the fifth century promoted some tanks and wells
670 A.D. Chalukya ruler Vikramaditya granted rice land below a tank to subjects
670-700 A.D. Paramesvaravarman I excavated Paramesvara tanks for irrigation purposes Paramesvaravarman II constructed famous Tenneri Tank near Kanchipuram
707 A.D. Vidyaditya constructed tanks surrounding villages
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Timeline For Emergence Decline of Tank Irrigation Timeline For Emergence Decline of Tank Irrigation
Golden Age of Tanks (937-1336 A.D.) Golden Age of Tanks (937-1336 A.D.)
973-1184 A.D. Kalyana Chalukya took up vigorous tank bunding activities benefiting Dharwar, Bellary, Chitradurga Shimoga district
1068-76 A.D. Someswara I constructed several tanks in Dharwar, Bijapur Bellary district
1080 A.D. Vikramaditya constructed a number of tanks repaired a breach tank of Tambasamudra
1108-52 A.D. Hoysala kings Vishnuvardhana, Visa BallalaII promoted construction of tanks practically all over Karnataka
1204 A.D. Two tanks were constructed in Belgaum
1242 A.D. Hosakere of Dharwar Beenihilla of Hubli were built
13th Century Yadavs built many tanks
Post Golden Age of Tank Irrigation Post Golden Age of Tank Irrigation
1336-1565 A.D. Biggest milestone of Vijaynagar Empire was Kaveri delta project and Suekere tank
1410 A.D. Devaraya I built a dam on Harihara river benefiting five villages
14th Century Several tanks, reservoirs and canals were constructed
15th Century Renovation maintenance of tank through co-operation contribution of people
16-18th Century Period of prosperity great boom of activities in water works
1638-1799 A.D. Hyder Ali Tipu Sultan fought several wars and destroyed the time earned system of water harvesting
Pre-Independence Era Decline of tanks was set in permanently during the British period
Post Independence Ear The government emphasised initially on construction of dam, promoted tube well and more or less ignored traditional water harvesting structure as tank irrigation.
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Advantages of Tank Irrigation

• Appropriate irrigation devices in the cultivation
  of paddy
• Flood control device
• Insurance against low rainfall periods and also
  recharged groundwater
• A device to protect the ecosystem

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Districtwise Distribution of Tank in Karnataka Districtwise Distribution of Tank in Karnataka Districtwise Distribution of Tank in Karnataka Districtwise Distribution of Tank in Karnataka Districtwise Distribution of Tank in Karnataka Districtwise Distribution of Tank in Karnataka
District No. of Tanks Irrigated Area in ha District No. of Tanks Irrigated Area in ha
South Kanara 679 5607 Southern Maidan Total 11077 266310
North Kanara 3277 24827 Bellary 268 16125
Coastal Region Total 3954 30434 Dharwad 3160 69730
Shimoga 6331 74580 Raichur 671 20974
Chikkamanglur 2866 29121 Gulberga 514 25200
Hassan 5609 53971 Bidar 93 17805
Wet Region Total 14806 157672 Northern Maidan Total 4706 149834
Kolar 4282 67059 Bijapur 135 27480
Bangalore 2084 48302 Belgum 813 29779
Mandy 965 23312 Deccan Total 948 57259
Mysore 1371 34938 Total tanks 36639 673253
Tumkur 2004 64259 Social Design By Esha Shah Page 107 Social Design By Esha Shah Page 107 Social Design By Esha Shah Page 107
Chitradurga 371 28440 Source Govt. of Karnataka (1993) Source Govt. of Karnataka (1993) Source Govt. of Karnataka (1993)
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Tank Design

• A reservoir with the least length for the maximum
  depth of the embankment would provide maximum
  storage per unit length would cause least
  submergence and most economical.
• Generally tanks are prepared for paddy
  cultivation.
• Shape and length of embankment determine the cost
  of construction of a tank.

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Diversity of Tank Design

• During British period also, some tanks were
  constructed but they were constructed for
  drinking purpose or leisure spot.
• Tanks were also constructed based on the
  requirement of farmers.
• Based on water availability and rainfall pattern

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Decline of Tank Irrigation
Conversion of Water Structures in Jodhpur City Conversion of Water Structures in Jodhpur City
Old Water Structure Converted To
Phoolalao Vyas Park
Jagat Sagar Public Park
Bakhat Sagar Nehru Park
Kalyan Sagar Raik Bag
Masuria Talab Masuria Colony
Fadusar Kaliberi Mining Belt
Abhoy Sagar Residential Colony
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Personal Learning

• Those who can do, those who cant report.
• Education does not tell you what to think but how
  to think.
• Learn to live with conflict and dont look for
  immediate answers.
• There is a difference among information,
  knowledge and wisdom.
• Everyday is a learning process, the day you stop
  learning, you grow faster.

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Learning from NRM

• Non-renewable resource can be a big source of
  business enterprise.
• I need to dovetail my understanding of management
  to make it an entrepreneurial venture.
• No mindless opposing everything coming on my
  ways.
• Understanding natural resources as a complex
  phenomenon as it trespasses boundary goes
  beyond economic political sphere.

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Learning From Term Paper

• Traditional technique in some cases are as good
  as modern technique
• Reviewing books
• How to read through cursory glances
• Modify traditional technique to suit local
  situation
• Need to preserve traditional technique

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The Myth of Kalahandi

• A few decades ago the entire landscape was green.
  A web of some 30,000 traditional water harvesting
  structures helped the Kalahandi region tide over
  some of its worst famines. It also made the
  region one of the richest in east India.
• Rain never failed Kalahandi. Mismanagement did.
  Like in the past, it still rains heavily, but the
  rainwater is not harvested. The tanks are still
  there, but silted up. A slight shortfall in
  rainfall now triggers a large-scale crop failure.
  So agriculture is a difficult prospect for
  survival for more than 50 per cent of the
  population. Kalahandis poverty is amid plenty,
  says Shiv Shankar Patnaik, Kalahandis district
  panchayat president.

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The Myth of Kalahandi

• Independence triggered the gradual death of the
  tanks. After Independence, the government
  decided to wrest control of all the water
  harvesting structures including those that were
  privately owned. Fearing a takeover, the
  landlords converted most of these structures into
  agricultural fields. The process was followed by
  encroachment of public waterbodies by the
  influential people, observes a survey of done by
  international NGO Action Aid on Balangirs
  traditional structures.
• These tanks were later transferred to the
  Panchayats in 1955. As monetary allocation was
  primarily for roads and building and the
  community was kept away, tanks were silted up due
  to lack of maintenance. The death of this
  tradition proved a death kneel for the agrarian
  society, says S K Patnaik of Vikalp, a
  Kantabanji-based NGO working on the revival of
  traditional water harvesting structures.

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The Myth of Kalahandi

• Deforestation and collapse of the traditional
  tank irrigation have caused desertification of
  this area.
• Rainwater was earlier stored through an extensive
  network of tanks. In the KBK districts, every
  village has a network of tanks.
• Villagers were directly managing these structures
  through their own institutions like Jal Sabha
  (water assembly).
• This part had a rich and highly sustainable
  tank culture that evolved with peoples
  participation, said Sohini Sengupta, who did a
  research paper on western Orissas tank
  irrigation for Oxfams India Disaster Report.

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Irrigation Capacity of Tanks

• As per present calculation, the live storage
  capacity of a tank is 120 million cubic feet, but
  according to the tank registers of the British
  period, total storage capacity of tank was 659
  units, where on unit 172 million cubic feet.
  Total irrigation capacity of tank is 659 acres in
  monsoon and and irrigates one acre of paddy 534
  acres in summer as per PWD manuals.

Source Social Designs By Esha Shah
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Challenges For Tank Irrigation

• Tank irrigation becomes less significant if one
  traverses from south to north and from west to
  east in Karnatka.
• Tanks have been the most important source of
  irrigation in the wet region and the mixed region
  of south Karnataka where paddy is the main crop
  cultivated.
• Well irrigation replaces tanks in Deccan region
  of northern Karnataka where non-paddy crops
  dominate agriculture.
• Farmers resistance in sharing the common
  irrigation resources.
• Jiski lathi usaki bhains principle is applied
  in these cases.
• Sometime upstream farmers stop tank water to flow
  through the field channel passing through their
  land.
• Rich farmers or village head claim first right on
  water resources.
• Farmers also use other water sources for
  irrigation besides tank water.
• Farmers tap shallow ground water which slowly
  seeps through the previous geological formation
  through open shallow wells (Baori).

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Options To Tank Irrigation

• According to experts the development of minor
  irrigation should receive greater attention
  because of the several advantages they posses
  like small investments, simpler components as
  also being labour intensive, quick maturing and
  mot of all farmer friendly.
• Reservoirs and tanks in are losing their storage
  capacity due to heavy siltation. This in turn
  causes inadequate supply of water and also
  recurrent floods in some areas. Floods not only
  causes economic loss but also results in
  inundation of fertile top soil and erosion.
• Siltation which results from soil erosion in the
  catchment areas is one of the major problems in
  tank irrigation systems. As a result there is
  loss of storage capacity and reduction in water
  spread area and water availability.

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References

• 1. Title Social Design
• Author Shah Esha
• Publication Wageningen University Water
  Resources Series
• 2. Title Traditional Water Harvesting System
• Author Bhuban C. Barah
• Publication New Age International Publishers
• 3. Title Water Resources Management
• Author Nishi Sinha
• Publication Har Anand Publication
• 4. www.indiatogether.com

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Thank You!

• Any Questions?