RAIN WATER

Literally translated, the word 'Mizo' means 'dwellers of the hills'. Since the earliest days, the Mizos kept to the hills for a number of factors, principal among which has been their security, as wars were waged constantly among Mizos villagers. To this day, towns and villages remain on the hill-tops.

Mizoram's terrain is hilly with spreading parallel ridges and narrow valleys. Such an undulatory profile makes water sources scarce, found as they are, in the low-lying valleys — mostly inaccessible to the Mizos.

Water is rarely available near the villages. Besides, there are few springs up-hill. The growing demand of an increasing population is also pressing this scarce resource. Pumping water from the valleys below to the small and scattered hilltop settlements is no feasible proposition either. Naturally, then, Mizos regard water as a vital need and give it the respect it deserves. People had to go down to the valleys in search of springs and would have to wait for hours, sometimes even for a whole day and night, for their vessel to be filled with drops of water trickling from the springs. Clearly, because they chose to stay far away from any large expanse of water and the steep slope of the hills, water was, and still is, the bane of the Mizos.

The struggle for water has been the constant occupation for the Mizos, so much so that people saved whatever they could to construct a water reservoir to collect rain. But because this was out of reach for most people, the struggle for water continued in intensity through the years for most Mizos. Lest we miss the point, it must be borne in mind that Mizoram receives plenty of rainfall from the monsoon winds from the Bay of Bengal which hit the region in the first week of June itself — an average annual rainfall of 226cm is spread over 130 days.

The system adopted in Mizoram is a version of the rooftop rainwater harvesting model. The method of construction of the system keeps getting updated, to incorporate the latest developments in the techniques of construction as applicable to the state and also the people of Mizoram. In fact, introducing the concept was not a difficult proposition in Mizoram because a roof-top rainwater harvesting system has been in vogue for a long time, enabling people to collect roof run-off by a bamboo gutter, etc. and to store it in any type of container at hand. This system has met most of their demand for water, including water for drinking, washing, bathing, gardening and a variety of other uses.

The idea of harvesting rain is a well accepted mode of water supply for the people of Mizoram. Since portable drinking water is not available easily, the Mizos understand the importance of their water resource. This consciousness provides a guarantee that people can be depended upon in implementing a project to harvest rainwater.

Landslides are common in Mizoram during the rainy season. An accompanying phenomenon is the erosion of soil down the slopes. Besides, there is also the erosion of soil around individual houses due to the water dripping from the roof. These factors together put the houses and their inhabitants at great risk. Now, with the gutters circumventing the roof to collect and help channel water to the tank, the erosion of the soil supporting the houses' structure has stopped. This has prevented the houses from collapsing. — Er. Zoliansânga, M.E. (Envt. Engg.), C.E.P.