MLAR 0203 WATER MANAGEMENT – 1

AHAR-PYNE
Irrigation system in South Bihar.

SUBMITTED BY : VINITA KUMARI (2018MLA017)

 INTRODUCTION
• Ahar-pyne system is an indigenous irrigation technology, which continues to irrigate substantial areas even today
in South Bihar plains of India. This system has evolved from an understanding of the particular agro-climatic
conditions of the region
• Ahar-Pyne is a 5000 year-old irrigation system in Bihar.
• Diversion based irrigation system.
• It is this system that made paddy cultivation possible in south bihar, which is otherwise unsuited for this crop.
• South Bihar is characterized by scanty to medium rainfall, stiff clayey or highly sandy soil. Both have very poor
water retention capacity.
• Slope of South Bihar is towards north, average fall is 1.13-0.76 m/km .
• Area irrigated by ahar pynes is on the decline accounting for only about 12% of the total irrigated area in Bihar.
• Constitute nearly three-fourths of the total irrigation facilities in South Bihar.
• Ahar beds were also used to grow a rabi (winter) crop after draining out the excess water that remained after
kharif (summer)cultivation.
• In this system 1 Pyne can irrigate up to 400 acres, controls flood and drought.
 AHAR
• Ahars are reservoir with embankment on three sides. An ahar resembles a rectangular catchment basin with only
three embankments, and the fourth side left open for the drainage water to enter the catchment basin following
the natural gradient of the country.
• Water supply for an ahar comes either from natural drainage after rainfall (rainfed ahars) or through pynes
where necessary diversion works are carried out. Water for irrigation is drawn out by opening outlets made at
different heights in the embankment.
• Ahars, with sides that are more than a km. long, irrigating more than 400 ha are not rare, though smaller ones are
more common
• Ahars are different from the regular tanks in that the bed of an ahar is not dug and usual tanks do not have the
raised embankments.
 PYNE

Pyne is the local name for the diversion channels. These channels may be of various sizes. The small ones are
those found originating in ahars and carrying the water of the ahars to cultivable plots. The large ones have their
origins in rivers from which water is diverted through these artificial channels by erecting embankment in the river
beds.
It is often 3 to 5 kms before the water of the pynes reaches the level of cultivation. Some of the biggest pynes are
16 to 32 kms. In length, and some of the them known as dasian pynes (pynes with 10 branches) irrigate many
thousand acres of lands of hundreds of villages.

Ahar Pyne system in Gaya, South Bihar (Image courtesy: Hindi Water Portal)
 DISTRIBUTION OF WATER

• In South Bihar the most common system of water distribution is that the water first goes to the upper reach field
which is closest to the irrigation channel and then goes to the next field.
• This field to field irrigation is resorted to because ahar-pyne irrigation is used mainly for the paddy crop, where
even a little extra water does not cause any harm to the crop.
• As pynes served many villages, each village had its fixed turn of days and hours to have the water. These turns
known as PARABANDI were most equitable and just modes of water allocation.
• The reliability and timeliness of ahar irrigation is ensured because water is stored in the reservoir and is utilized
when pynes do not have any water left and rains are not forthcoming.
 REPAIR AND MAINTAINANCE OF AHAR- PYNE

• The routine upkeep work involves cleaning and desilting of ahar and pyne and maintaining the water
conveyance network, while the system is in operation.
• Clearance of silt.
• The repair of small branches of the ahars and field channels is done by the cultivators themselves under goam
system and it starts before the onset of monsoon.
• Regular repair of embankments.
• The operational works include cutting and closing embankments for diversion, erection of bandhs or garandis
across the pynes, opening and closing of outlets and at times even resorting to manual water lifts to irrigate
uplands.
• The material used is the one which is locally and easily available. The use of mozar which is obtained by mixing
the wet mud with paddy straw quite effective in the repairs of embankment, including in raising its height.
 SUSTAINABILITY

• The sustainability of ahar-pyne system can be judged by the fact that these modes of irrigation are in
existence for centuries. Writing in the early part of this century.
• All the ahar-pyne systems that exist today are at least nearly hundred years old.
• The main reason of the sustainability of these indigenous systems is that the advantages emanating from them
are two fold.
• First, these systems utilize water which otherwise would be wasted.
• Second, these systems, particularly in the past, saved the plains of South Bihar from the recurrent floods which
otherwise would have devastated the countryside regularly.

RESONS FOR SUCCESS OF AHAR-PYNE SYSTEM IN PAST:

• Fragmented land holdings and equity in water distribution.

• Cheap source of irrigation
• Uniformity in cropping
• Collective action.
 RESON FOR DECLINE

• Abolition of the Zamindari system.

• Development of new irrigation sources like canals, tube wells leading tpo easy availability of water.
• Lack of convergence between old systems and new schemes.

NEED FOR GOING BACK TO INDIGENOUS SYSTEMS

• Easy maintenance, cost and quality.

• Sustainability in the larger run.
Source:
• http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/ahar-pynes-traditional-flood-water-harvesting-systems-can-
help-revive-agriculture-south
• https://www.iucn.org/regions/asia/countries/india/sustainable-agriscapes-future-project
• https://www.slideshare.net/livolinkfoundation/igs-15708670
• http://nopr.niscair.res.in/handle/123456789/13855
• https://bjmirror0810.wordpress.com/
• http://wrd.bih.nic.in/