Question

How were tanks built, and how did they help the people?

Answer 1

Instructions:

• Explain how the tanks were built.
• Explain how tanks help the people.

Solution:

Construction of tanks:

• The tanks were usually built by building a strong wall of stones and mud across a small stream in such a way that with a wall on just one side, a large lake could be formed.
• The tanks were sometimes built by a king, a military leader or nayaka, or the people of the village. In building the tank, everyone in the village contributed to expenses and labour.
• All village people together maintained the tank by repairing the tank bund or removing silt from the tank bed and also took care so that no one dirtied or stopped the water flowing into the tank.
• They also appointed a person to regulate the use of the water from the tank.

Uses of tanks:

• The tanks provided the people and their animals with drinking water and helped them irrigate their fields in drought years so they could raise at least some crops.
• The tanks also helped increase the water level in the nearby wells and helped prevent rainwater runoff and erosion of topsoils.
• After the monsoon, when the water in the tank decreases, the tank bed is used for cultivation, and the tank silt is used to fertilise the soil.
• Tanks belonged to all people of the village. Thus, they benefited not one or two people but all of the village.