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How are the underground tankas beneficial to the people of Rajasthan
Tankas’ or ‘kunds’ are covered underground tanks in which people have being harvesting rainwater
from rooftops or from a surrounding structured surface catchment area called ”paitan“ for hundreds of
years. Kunds were primarily privately owned though rich businessmen & rulers of the land as part of
their pious contribution built many public kunds for the community. Construction of water structure
was also considered to be one of the seven meritorious acts a person was expected to perform during
a lifetime. The generosity of a rich family was judged in terms of number of water harvesting bodies
sponsored by them. The public kunds built by them in villages served poor in the community who did
not have the means to build one for their use. Concerned communities also built public kunds in the
villages collectively. Public kunds were constructed in places of religious significance, markets and on
trade routes too. During the great famine of 1895–96 kunds were constructed in hundreds, which not
only created assets for harvesting rainwater but also provided wage work to the population. Kunds of
yesteryears were made of lime & stone with a domed top of ‘phog’ [Calligonum poligonoides] wood
& sandstone. The paitan, catchment, was plastered with lime gravel. Kunds belonging to rich had ornamental decorations on them. The water stored in kunds remained fresh for years as being underground it was not exposed to extreme temperatures of the region. The use of lime softened the water by removing hardness,minerals, salts, gases & mineral acids present in water. The instances of
water borne diseases, due to biological contamination, that were quite common in other harvesting structures, were remarkably less in kunds.


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