Bamboo drip irrigation system is prevalent in which state of India?

1. Water Scarcity and Need for Water Conservation and Management:

(i) Water scarcity is caused by over-exploitation, unequal access to water among different groups and excessive use of water resources.

(ii) Some areas suffer from water scarcity due to the poor quality of water.

(iii) We need to conserve water to safeguard us from health hazards, to ensure food security and continuation of livelihood, to prevent degradation of natural ecosystems, etc.

2. Multipurpose River Projects and Integrated Water Resources Management:

(i) From ancient times, we have been constructing sophisticated hydraulic structures like dams, made of stone stubble, lakes, reservoirs, etc.

(ii) Hydraulic Structures in Ancient India:

(a) In the first century B.C, Sringaverapura near Allahabad had a sophisticated water harvesting system.

(b) Dams, lakes, and irrigation systems were widely developed under Chandragupta Maurya's reign.

(iii) Dams: A dam acts as a barrier across flowing water by obstructing, directing or retarding the flow. It often creates a reservoir, lake or impoundment. 

(iv) Uses of Dams:

(a) To impound rivers and rainwater that can be used later to irrigate agricultural fields.

(b) In Dams, water is used for electricity generation and flood control. 

(c) Recreation, inland navigation and fish breeding, etc., can be done with the help of dams. Water stored in dams is very much helpful in developing pisciculture as well.

(d) Dams are used to supply water for domestic and industrial use in the nearby areas.

(v) Side Effects of Creating Dams:

(a) Regulating and damming rivers affect their natural flow.

(b) Dams created on floodplains submerge the existing vegetation and soil leading to its decomposition over a period.

(c) Aquatic life of rivers gets affected and difficult to migrate the aquatic fauna.

(d) Creation of dams lead to various environmental movements like 'Narmada Bachao Andolan' and 'Tehri Dam Andolan'.

(e) Displacement of Local people, loss of livelihood and control over resources are some impacts of the construction of dams.

(f) Dams were created to control floods, but these dams have triggered floods.

3. Rainwater Harvesting:

(i) Rainwater harvesting is a simple method by which rainfall is collected for future usage. This water can be used in different ways or directly used for recharge purposes.

(ii) In hilly and mountainous regions, people-built diversion channels like the 'Guls' or 'Kuls' of the western Himalayas for irrigation purposes.

(iii) In Rajasthan, Rooftop rainwater harvesting is commonly practised.

(iv) Developing Inundation channels for irrigation is a common practice in Bengal.

(v) In arid and semi-arid regions, agricultural land is converted into rain-fed storage structures that allow the water to stand, and this provides moisture to the soil, such as 'Khadins' in Jaisalmer and 'Johads' in other parts of Rajasthan.

(vi) The tankas, are part of a well-developed rooftop rainwater harvesting system and are mainly practised in Rajasthan, particularly in Bikaner, Phalodi, and Barmer.

(vii) The first state in India that practised rooftop rainwater harvesting is Tamil Nadu. It is made compulsory for all houses across the state to have this structure.

(viii) Bamboo Drip Irrigation System:

(a) Meghalaya practises $200$-year-old system of tapping stream and spring water by using bamboo pipes.

(b) About $18-20$ litres of water enter the bamboo pipe system. Further, it gets transported over hundreds of metres.

(c) The bamboo acting as pipes are used to divert perennial springs on the hilltops to the lower reaches.