Discuss how rainwater harvesting in semi arid region of rajasthan is carried out

(1) In semi-arid and arid regions of Rajasthan, particularly in Bikaner, Paladin and Barer, almost all the houses traditionally had underground tank or tanks for storing drinking water. (2) The tanks could be as large as a big room; one household in Paladin had a tank that was 6.1 meters deep, 4.27 meters long and 2.44 meters wide. (3) The tanks were part of the well-developed rooftop rainwater harvesting system and were built inside the main house or the courtyard. (4) They are connected to the sloping roofs through a pipe and store rainwater in these underground `tanks’.

In semi-arid regions of Rajasthan every house had underground tankas to store the water for drinking purposes. These tankas are large and deep tanks which were built inside the main house or the courtyard. They were linked to the sloping roofs of the houses through a pipe. Rainwater falling on the rooftops would run down through the pipe and collect in the underground tankas. The rainwater collected was stored in the underground tankas providing drinking water till the next seasons. When all other sources have dried up, these tankas were beneficial to beat the summer heat as they kept the rooms cool. The rainwater or polar pani, as it was commonly known in these parts, is considered the purest form of natural water.