Kund
Also called: Kundi · Topic: Water Resources of India: Availability, Use and Conservation · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 4 "Water Resources"
Meaning
A kund, also called a kundi, is a traditional rainwater harvesting structure of the Thar Desert. The ground is shaped like a shallow saucer so that rain runs towards the middle. There it drains into an underground pit that is covered to keep the water clean and stop it drying up. The stored water is used mainly for drinking. In a desert with very little rain, every drop caught matters.
Example
In villages of the Thar in western Rajasthan, kunds are built in open ground, and people draw drinking water from them in the dry months.
Don't confuse with
- Taanka: this is an underground tank inside or next to a house, fed by water from the roof (Bikaner, Phalodi, Barmer). A kund stands in open ground and collects rain from a saucer-shaped catchment on the surface.
Related concepts
- Ancient hydraulic structures of India
- Kallanai
- Traditional water harvesting systems
- Guls and kuls
- Inundation channels
- Khadin
- Johad
- Taanka
- Ahar-pyne
- Eri