Once great legacy of Arabs, India reviving ancient underground water channels
One of the great legacies of Arabs and Persians to the world, the Qanat (Arabic for conduit) or Karez (Persian for smaller channels) system of irrigation – which made agriculture and town life possible in areas that would otherwise have been too arid – is now being revived in semi-arid Bidar, Karnataka’s less developed district in India.
Besides Bidar, they can also be found in towns like Bijapur, Aurangabad, Ahmednagar and Hukkeri. At least three main ancient Karez lines still course like arteries in several pockets of Bidar, threading habitats, bringing to the parched land water and coolness and life itself.
Considering its utility, the Bidar district administration along with other agencies and experts had sprung into action to preserve these subterranean aqueducts known by different names in different places. The chronology of Deccan dynasties reveal that Bidar might have been one of the earlier historic cities to have such a water channeling system built.
Bidar was made the capital city of Bahmani Sultanate under which the Old Fort was rebuilt and madrasas, mosques, palaces and gardens were built. It is believed that Ahmad Shah Bahmani ‘Wali’ constructed the karez lines after his reign was fully established in AD 1427.
The water harvesting and underground transmission system was constructed during his time with help of Persian engineers since the Bahmani Sultanate had links with Persia in those bygone times.
(Karez Systems in Bidar district were first documented in the 1920s.)
Community water system
Karez was developed more as a community water system and to secure the fortifications by filling up the moats. A place like Bidar needs a system like Karez where the soil was rocky and drilling wells to accommodate drinking water was not easy.
Though Bidar’s ambitious project of Naubad Karez is now in working condition but more needs to be done and the water quality is good for drinking and domestic uses.
V Govindankutty, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, Government College Chittur in Kerala’s Palakkad, has spent nearly two years mapping every detail including condition assessment that played a key role in the restoration of these Karez lines.
The report was submitted to the district administration through his previous organization IHCN to Government of Karnataka. Prof. Govindankutty says that so many stakeholders were instrumental in ensuring support at the right time.
“The late Bidar District Collector Anurag Tiwari also contributed not just for the development of Karez system in Bidar but took the initiative to restore many historical tanks and wells. The Bidar Team YUVAA (NGO) supported the cleaning of Karez as well as generating social awareness on water conservation,” Prof. Govindankutty said.
(V. Govindankutty has spent nearly two years mapping every detail including condition assessment.)
Stalled work
Since the Karez started flowing in September 2016 the work has been stalled. Prof. Govindankutty says the work on rejuvenation of Nauabd Karez has to restart this coming summer in 2019 and there stands the possibility to showcase what such systems can accomplish in today’s time.
“The work has to be carried out systematically and faster with multiple teams working at various locations,” he says.
According to Nagnath Patil of Yuvaa, Bidar is home to three Karez lines. Among the most famous is the Naubad, which is currently functional and is 2.58 km long.
“The water that now flows in the Naubad Karez (aqueduct) is the result of months of challenging research and meticulous restoration, not only of the aqueduct and its vents but also of Bawdis and Kalyanis (open wells and tanks that dot the landscape here), a part of Bidar’s highly evolved and networked indigenous water systems.”
Patil says the next course of action will be executed in two phases. “Phase I is landscaping and beautification of 50mts near to Karez line in Naubad and phase II is to develop a garden and an amphitheater near the mouth of Karez,” he said.
Karez systems in Bidar were first documented in the 1920s by Gulam Yazdani (Bidar Its History and Its Monuments), the former head of archaeology in the Nizam government of Hyderabad.
(“The district administration and the Tourism Department are doing great work and should continue to carry this forward,” says Govindankutty.)
Current status of Karez
V Govindankutty calls the present condition of these Karez as “not satisfactory” as the unplanned organic growth of urbanization has engulfed the wells and some of them within the city are untraceable.
“Both Jamna Mori and Shukla Thirth are in an endangered condition. The water does flow through these systems, though they are blocked at many places due to debris from tunnel collapse and dumping of waste. The biggest and most alarming problem is that of water pollution,” he says.
According to Govindankutty, conservation plans need to be implemented on the ground. “A comprehensive conservation plan is being prepared after studying the plateaus geophysical characteristics and groundwater dynamics. The plans also have to comply with watershed conservation and development norms,” he says.
“The district administration and the Tourism Department are doing great work but should continue to carry this forward,” says Govindankutty.
courtesy : english.alarabiya.net
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Nicobar Tribal Council Alleges FRA Violations in Great Nicobar Wildlife Sanctuaries
Sri Vijaypuram (Port Blair): The Tribal Council of Little and Great Nicobar has alleged fresh violations of the Forest Rights Act in the notification of three wildlife sanctuaries linked to the Centre’s ₹92,000-crore Great Nicobar Island project, even as the Calcutta High Court is set to hear petitions challenging the mega project over similar concerns next month.
The Union government had, in October 2022, notified three wildlife sanctuaries in parts of Little Nicobar Island, Menchal Island and Meroe Island for the conservation of leatherback turtles, megapodes and coral ecosystems. The move came after the government acknowledged that the proposed infrastructure project on Great Nicobar Island would affect coral colonies and nesting habitats of endangered species.
However, the tribal council has maintained that the sanctuaries were declared without consultation with the Nicobarese communities who traditionally inhabit and manage these islands.
In a letter dated April 23 addressed to the Assistant Conservator of Forests of the Nicobar Forest Division, the council reiterated its opposition to the sanctuaries and objected to the formation of a committee to determine eco-sensitive zones around the protected areas.
The council said its chairman had not been consulted before being included in the committee and was informed of his membership only a month after the committee was constituted.
The three notified sanctuaries include the Leatherback Turtle Sanctuary in parts of Little Nicobar Island, the Megapode Sanctuary covering the entire Menchal Island and the Coral Sanctuary spanning the whole of Meroe Island.
According to the council, Menchal and Meroe islands hold deep cultural and spiritual significance for the Nicobarese community, which believes the islands are inhabited by the spirits of their ancestors.
The council demanded that the sanctuary notifications be revoked and the eco-sensitive zone committee dissolved, alleging that both decisions were taken against the wishes of the indigenous community.
Meanwhile, Jairam Ramesh has written to Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram alleging violations of the Forest Rights Act in the process of obtaining consent for diversion of forest land for the Great Nicobar project.
Ramesh argued that consent should have been obtained through the Tribal Council representing the Nicobarese communities instead of through Gram Sabhas representing settler families. He also questioned how the government-controlled Andaman Adim Janjati Vikas Samiti could provide consent on behalf of the Shompen community, classified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group.
He urged the Tribal Affairs Ministry to intervene and seek withdrawal of clearances granted for the project under the Forest Rights Act.
Earlier, Ramesh had also written to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav alleging that environmental impact studies for the project were conducted in haste and without the detailed seasonal assessments mandated under environmental laws.
The dispute dates back to 2022 when the Andaman and Nicobar administration initiated the process for notifying the three sanctuaries before holding Special Gram Sabhas for diversion of forest land linked to the Great Nicobar project.
In May that year, the administration invited objections and claims regarding the proposed sanctuaries. Subsequently, on July 19, the Nicobar Deputy Commissioner certified that no objections or claims had been received.
The tribal council later wrote to the district administration stating that the notification process was carried out without ensuring that residents of Little Nicobar Island were informed as required by law. It alleged that no public announcements seeking objections were made in villages such as Bahua, Muhincoihn and Kiyang, whose residents traditionally use and manage parts of the notified areas.
The council said the Nicobarese community had protected the islands and wildlife for generations through customary practices and traditional belief systems.
It further argued that the sanctuaries would interfere with long-standing rights over forests and coastal areas. They noted that these areas are used for rituals, plantations, collection of forest produce, construction of huts and canoes, harvesting medicinal plants and worship.
In November 2024, the council objected to draft Island Coastal Regulation Zone plans, demanding basic infrastructure, instead of proposed eco-tourism activities in the sanctuaries. The council demanded better public restrooms, jetties, water facilities, pathways, and mobile connectivity.
The Nicobar administration issued a clarification in May 2025, stating that the sanctuaries would not affect hunting rights available to Scheduled Tribes in the Nicobar Islands. The council, however, rejected the clarification, stating that their dependence on forests and coasts extended far beyond hunting activities.
Earlier this month, a Bench led by the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court dismissed preliminary objections raised by the Union government against petitions challenging the diversion of forest land for the Great Nicobar project. The matter has now been listed for final hearing in June.
