As part of the decentralised water management intervention, PRIA, along with Path Pradarshak in Surguja,Sambhav in Bilaspur and SROUT, in Korba District documented the following cases in Schedule V areas, where tribal communities have effectively managed the water bodies (especially drinking water and irrigation) through their traditional community based structures.

1. As part of the decentralised water management intervention, PRIA, along with Path Pradarshak in Surguja,
Sambhav in Bilaspur and SROUT, in Korba District documented the following cases in Schedule V areas, where
tribal communities have effectively managed the water bodies (especially drinking water and irrigation) through
their traditional community based structures.
Murma Village is a village of Devkhol Panchayat of Ambikapur, Surguja District. There are a total of 75 families in
the village. Agriculture is the main source of occupation. Other avenues of employment are road construction, the
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MNREGA) scheme, and fish farming through the initiative
of women lead SHGs and a proactive panchayat. The average monthly income of the families is between Rs. 1000
to Rs. 1500.The community is self-sufficient in terms of the utilisation of water resources available to them within
the vicinity of the village.
Traditional practices of water conservation and management
The community traditionally practices the digging of ubkas (shallow water pits) as the water table of the Ambikapur
Block is high. The ubkas are dug by men and not women. They
are mainly dug in the field for irrigation and other household
activities. The underlying factor is that the community traditionally
seem to know where water will be found on the surface so they
dig the ubkas there. They use traditional knowledge to assess the
availability of water. The water remains in the ubka for a few
months and then the community finds another place to dig the
next ubka. The digging of ubkas is based on the traditional and
indigenous knowledge of the community. These shallow pits help
the community in accessing the water near their houses. The
ubkas are not dug during the summers as water evaporates
faster then. Therefore the community uses either the dabri or the
nalla that flows besides the village.
Apart from digging ubkas the community has also dug a dabri/farm pond primarily for irrigation purposes. The
dabri is 12 feet deep and mainly stores rainwater along with a natural stream that flows into it. The stream usually
flows down from the hills. Realising the utility of the dabri as a source of income for the community, the SHG and
Traditional Water Conservation
and Management Practices
best practices
From Ubkas to the Fields

2. panchayat started fish farming as an alternate source of income. Apart from rainwater the dabri is the only source
for irrigation. So the community made a joint financial contribution to purchase a diesel pump that pulls water from
the dabri and channelizes it to the fields. The dabri was further deepened by the government under the MNREGA
scheme. At present the SHG contributes to the monitoring, upkeep, maintenance, and cleaning of the dabri. They
have also appointed a supervisor to look after the dabri.
Threats to the practice
Factors like the depletion of water table, persistent decrease in precipitation, and global warming are a direct threat
to the community led practices to conserve, preserve and use water resources.
“I am observing that for the past two - three years precipitation is less, also earlier when we use to dig ubkas
the water was available within the depth of one foot. At present we have to dig at least 3-4 feet to get water-
Kadam Kuwar, resident of Murma Village
Secondly, the apprehension is who will bear the cost of diesel in the long term. The government has helped by
deepening the pond but no financial assistance has been provided for other supportive and related activities by the
government. Third threat is the lack of electricity.
Saledabri Village is one of the villages of Dhumka Panchayat of Bilaspur District. The population of the village is 400
people. Farming is the main occupation of the community and the chief crop is paddy. The community also gets
employment under the MNREGA scheme. They mainly construct roads, make canals, and digdabr is which gives
them a decent earning. The yearly income of each family in the village is Rs.20,000. The community has both
traditional and government supported water related structures in the village that cater to the water related needs
of the community.
Traditional practice of water management
To fulfil their daily water needs, the ancestors of the village have dug a talab in which rainwater is harvested. The
talab dries up in summers and the community removes the pebbles and other extraneous and injurious items from
the talab. During the monsoons the talab refills with fresh water and the water lasts for an entire year. The talab has
a separate ghat(place to bath) for women. On the left hand side there are three temples which are 300 years old.
They stand as a proof of the community's practice of preserving water and praying near the water source. Lord
Shiva and Nandi, Lord Shiva's cow are mainly worshipped by the villagers.
The other best practice of the community is to dig
dabris (shallow pits/farm ponds). As the name
reflects, 'Sale' means 'hundred' and 'dabri' means
'shallow pits' dug by the community hence, the name
Saledabri. The government adopted the community
practice of digging dabris and modified it by
converting it into a big dam that can be utilised for
irrigation. When the dam was built the people of the
community contributed their labour and the cost of
constructing the dam, which was Rs. 3 crores, was
incurred by the government. Till date however canals
have not been constructed due to which the water in
the dam is not utilised optimally for irrigation.
2
Tradional Water Conservation and Management Practices
Participatory Research in Asia
The Land of Thousand Dabris

3. 3
The community's religious sanctity for forests, water and animals
The community worships the Rain God during naagpanchami or saavan (monsoon) season. The community as
a whole visits the goddess Chepa Rani's cave in the mountain. They offer flowers, milk and other eatables to
the Goddess for good rains. In this village there is no practice of only men worshipping the Rain God. The whole
community celebrates that day as they believe that it will bring wealth and prosperity to the village.
Maintenance Rules of Nagchua Village's Community Pond
No soap or toothpaste is used in the pond, only a holy dip can be taken;
No slippers are allowed inside the pond;
No fishing is permitted inside the pond;
Women are not allowed to go near the pond during their menses;
No gambling and alcohol is allowed near the tank.
Threats to the practice
Bakhua Ram aged 91 years says, while visiting the talab, “that the forest cutting is the main threat to all the water
resources. The talab water gets evaporated fast in the absence of trees around it. Also the ghats are used by
women to bath, fewer trees make women vulnerable when they bathe. These are the only places available where
women can bathe. The animals even struggle for shade in the absence of trees”.The community takes the blame
for the rampant clearing of the forest as they use wood for cooking' though the forest mafia is also active in their
village.
Religious fable about the origin of Belpaan Nalla, in Belpaan Village
There was a saint who religiously walked miles to take a holy dip in River Narmada whose source is
Amarkanthak. As the saint got old he was incapable of walking such long distances. Happy with his
commitment and dedication River Narmada blissfully proposed that he come to his village. The condition put
by River Narmada was that the saint should welcome her by belpattas and flowers. He did as she desired and
River Narmada appeared in the form of a nalla in his villge but a little far away from the village. This made the
village people doubt that the nalla was the epitome of River Narmada. The saint felt dejected as he knew it was
Rver Narmada which has originated near his village. So to prove to each one in the village he took Samadhi
(state of consciousness induced by complete meditation), and subsequently the River Narmada originated near
his samadhi. Today the village has become a religious spot. The Samadhi of saint is walled and the nalla has
religious sanctity. It is also believed that if any person commitsany sin like killing cow he/she can confess near
the nalla and get free from his/her sins.
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Best Practices

4. The Chuhiya Village in Chuhiya Panchayat of Korba District has a population of 850 people. It has 27 wells, 18
hand pumps, four rain fed ponds, six dabris, two dhondis, three nallahs (dries up in summers for a month). May –
June are the dry months when the village faces water scarcity. The tap water scheme was already in place and and
the village won the Nirmal Gram title. The village does not have adequate water for irrigation and faces hardships
during droughts as agriculture is mostly rain fed.
Traditional management and conservation practice
In the village the practice of using dhondi water for drinking was prevalent. The dhondi is a small pool of water
collected, like a spring in a certain patch of land. The practice of taking water for drinking from the dhondi has been
carrying on since time immemorial and over the years spiritual significance has also been attached to it. People
prefer this water which they find is sweet tasting as compared to the water from the hand pump which because of
its high iron content does not taste good. The dhondi visited in the village was located close to the fields. The
water in this particular dhondi was available throughout the year. The villagers had constructed a small boundary
wall around it to stop stray cattle from entering the area. Since the place has religious significance and is
considered the “devsthal” the village elders did not want to put up a
boundary wall around the dhondi, but the problem of cattle entering the
area was discussed at the panchayat and finally a decision was taken to
construct a boundary wall.
During community festivals and important occasions like weddings etc.
water is taken from this source by each family. On a regular basis most of
the families do take water from here but some who have access to a well do
not use the dhondi water regularly. The drinking water from dhondi however
is taken on special religious occasions, and during such times families also
clean the water hole, and contribute to its upkeep. Usually it is the men who
do the cleaning and women collect water. It was shared by the sarpanch
and upsarpanch that there was no caste based discrimination among
people when it came to accessing water from a collective source though
they did not sit and eat and drink from the same plate.
Threats to the practice
The PHED Department officials shared that the water was unfit for drinking; they mentioned that during monsoons,
chlorine etc. is added to the water by department officials. The department acknowledged the risks involved in
drinking this water but felt helpless as it was a tradition which has been practiced over years. They still continue to
conduct regular awareness programmes and test the water quality.
Supported by :
Participatory Research in Asia
PRIA is an International Centre for Learning and Promotion of Participation and Democratic Governance
Author
Shivani Singh is working in PRIA as a Programme Officer.
© PRIA, March 2014
This publication has been brought out under the PRIA
programme titled “Action Research on Implementation
of Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas Act (PESA),
1996 in Chhattisgarh (with special focus on water).”
This programme is supported by Arghyam, Bangalore .
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The Sweet Dhondi Water