Traditional 'tankas' given modern update under MGNREGA to battle water scarcity in Rajasthan

Barmer: The Centre has adopted western Rajasthan's traditional rainwater harvesting system 'tankas' by constructing a large number of such storage tanks with reinforced concrete cement near PMAY houses to battle water scarcity in the arid region.

Traditional 'tankas' are earthen rainwater storage tanks constructed by the people of Barmer district and other parts of western Rajasthan to collect water received during showers between July and September.

However, the water stored in the traditional 'tankas' gradually becomes contaminated due to its earthen structure and does not last for the entire year.

"So, the Centre has adopted the method under MGNREGA (Rural) scheme but instead of earthen tankas, is constructing water storage spaces made of reinforced concrete cement to provide uncontaminated water to the people for a longer period of time," Barmer Collector Arun Purohit said.

A total of 1,84,766 such tanks have been constructed since 2016, with 41,580 built in the current 2023-24 fiscal, he said.

Each tank, measuring 13.5 ft by 13.5 ft, has the capacity to store 35,000 litres of water and is constructed at a cost of Rs 3 lakh, Purohit said.

The district has 2,971 villages, locally called 'dhannis', and respective gram panchayats are the implementing agencies.

He said other measures are also being adopted to ensure water supply to far-flung villages in the district that shares a 228-km-long international border with Pakistan. These include the supply of water from the Indira Gandhi Canal and the Narmada Project along with the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) scheme.

"We are targeting to reach out to 4.25 lakh households under the JJM scheme. Of these, we have already covered 1.25 lakh households," the collector said.

After the JJM scheme is completely implemented, every household will have tap connection and surface water will be available to all households in the district, he said.

Head of Kurla village, Devaram Choudhury, said water scarcity is a major problem in the region and sources are few and far-flung.

He said the issue has been raised by people over the years and local representatives had urged the authorities to provide each household with permanent storage spaces.

"The construction of 'tankas' under MGNREGA has benefited us. We can now consume potable drinking water throughout the year," Choudhury said.

Thirty-six-year-old Dhammi Devi of the village said women have particularly benefited from these structures as they no longer have to walk around 4-5 km daily to fetch water from sources.

"Earlier, we used to spend five to six hours daily collecting water, which was still not enough. It was an arduous task and we used to get tired. Now, we can utilise that time for other work," she added.