Parts of Himachal Pradesh had evolved a local system of canal irrigation called kulhs
over four hundred years ago. The water flowing in the streams was diverted into
man-made channels which took this water to numerous villages down the hillside.
The management of the water flowing in these kulhs was by common agreement among
all the villages. Interestingly, during the planting season, water was first used by the
village farthest away from the source of the kulh, then by villages progressively higher
up. These kulhs were managed by two or three people who were paid by the villagers.
In addition to irrigation, water from these kulhs also percolated into the soil and fed
springs at various points. After the kulhs were taken over by the Irrigation Department,
most of them became defunct and there is no amicable sharing of water as before.
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