Central Agricultural Research Institute, Portblair-744101.
Andaman and Nicobar islands are eastern most fringe of our country consisting 572 islands with an area of 8429 sq km having only 6% area under cultivation. Although the islands region receives an average annual rainfall of 3070 mm spread from May to November, agriculture is mostly rainfed and people even face problem of drinking water during dry period. Ground water availability is almost zero with no well defined aquifer except some perched aquifers, leaving rain water management as the only viable solution for providing water for irrigation as well as domestic water supply. An attempt has been made to devise rain water management pratices in different topographical situations to provide water during the dry season. This article describes the potential of such management.
Islands, Lined tank, Rain water management, Tank cum well system
