Neeruganti

A brief history of Karnataka’s water managers

For millennia, humans have been harnessing water in a myriad number of traditional methods, for water is the very essence of life. Apart...

The cascading system of tanks and how it has helped fulfil water needs historically

For centuries, adivasi and other local communities throughout Karnataka sustained the ancient human-made tanks and the channels that...

Neeruganti and the role they play in the community

Neeruganti Venkatappa, now 70 years old, is one of an ancestral line of tank managers called Neeruganti, who preside over the ancient...

Role of Neeruganti in preserving biodiversity

For centuries, the waters from the tanks have breathed life into the ecosystems that sustain rural indigenous communities throughout the...

The role of community stewardship in managing shared natural resources

Karnataka’s rocky and undulating terrain is dotted with 37,000 lakes spread over 685,000 hectares of command area. Many of these lakes...

A case for the return of the Neeruganti - Karnataka’s water managers

For thousands of years, human-made tanks and reservoirs have ensured the availability of water for communities across rain-fed regions of...

Making a case for younger generation Neeruganti

For hundreds of years, the human-made tanks that exist across Karnataka, have sustained the livelihoods of the rural population. Under...