Since time immemorial, people were aware of the importance of preserving the natural resources like water. Hence, they devised techniques to harvest rainwater, river water, groundwater, and flood water while maintaining the ecological conditions with their water needs.
(i) In hilly and mountainous regions, people built diversion channels, for agriculture, like the ‘guls’ and ‘kuls’ in the Western Himalayas.
(ii) To store drinking water, especially in Rajasthan ‘Rooftop rainwater harvestin’ was practiced.
(iii) In the flood plains of Bengal, to irrigate the fields inundation channels were developed.
(iv) Agricultural fields in the arid and semi-arid regions, were converted into storage structures that allowed rain water to collect and moisten the soil examples are the ‘Khadins’ in Jaisalmer and Johads and Tankas in other parts of Rajasthan.