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Conservation Strategies for the Traditional Water Systems: A Case of Almora City, Uttarakhand

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Abstract

It is essential to understand how culture, geography, and environment interact to create water systems that have sustained communities for years in hilly terrains of the globe. In India, Almora, Uttarakhand, is one such example where Naula and Dhara’s traditional water harvesting systems still persist as a consistent source of fresh drinking water. These systems are valuable due to historical, religious, and architectural importance as they exhibit ancient knowledge about architecture and hydraulics in hills. However, unplanned development and a decline in associated knowledge systems have damaged Naulas and their structures in the city. This paper aims to assess the Naulas in the Almora hill city and propose strategies for conserving traditional water sources and protecting their structures. A comprehensive survey of traditional water sources is carried out based on field surveys for resource mapping, inventories, documentation, visual inspection, and unstructured interviews with local historians and stakeholders. The findings are validated through analysis and condition assessment using non-destructive techniques. The study’s findings indicate that numerous barriers exist to integrating traditional water sources into the current water management system due to lack of expertise and training, persistent conflict and competition between conservation needs and developers’ interests, and lack of funding. There is an immediate need to protect and preserve these traditional water systems and elevate their neglected status to sustain freshwater resources along with associated knowledge systems as a valuable resource for sustainable and inclusive development.

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Data availability statement

The maps (Fig. 3) and the Excel file (Table 1) that support the findings of this study are available upon reasonable request via email from the corresponding author.

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  1. School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada, India

    Sanjay Bhandari

  2. Department of Architecture, Planning and Design, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi, Varanasi, India

    Harsimran Kaur

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  1. Sanjay Bhandari
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Bhandari, S., Kaur, H. Conservation Strategies for the Traditional Water Systems: A Case of Almora City, Uttarakhand. J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. A 104, 807–817 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40030-023-00759-0

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