RAS question
What is a 'Tanka' in Rajasthan?
Correct answer: (C) Underground rainwater storage tank.
In Rajasthan, a tanka is a traditional underground rainwater storage tank, commonly built as a circular lime-lined structure in houses or courtyards.
Explanation
A tanka is not a surface canal, open well or dam; it is a household rainwater storage structure. The EAC-PM working paper places tankas under traditional water systems of the Thar Desert and describes them as underground tanks found traditionally in most Bikaner houses. They were built in the main house or courtyard as circular holes in the ground, lined with fine polished lime, where rainwater was collected. This form is also associated with western Rajasthan, especially Jaisalmer and Barmer, and is traditionally cylindrical. The key idea is storage of scarce rainwater for domestic use, especially drinking, in an underground structure protected from heat and evaporation.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) A canal carries water along a channel, whereas a tanka stores collected rainwater underground at the household level.
- (B) An open well is an exposed source for drawing water, while a tanka is a covered underground tank made to store rainwater.
- (D) A dam impounds water by blocking a flow, but a tanka is a small domestic storage structure built in a house or courtyard.
Concept
This tests traditional water-harvesting systems of Rajasthan, especially how desert communities adapted to scarce and erratic rainfall. RAS repeatedly asks such terms because they connect physical geography, local resource management and Rajasthan-specific culture.