Flowing to oblivion: Kangra’s 300-yr-old kuhl system battles modern amnesia

Kangra Valley’s centuries-old kuhl system — a traditional, gravity-fed irrigation network — is facing a critical ecological threat due to recent modernisation initiatives. Once celebrated as a lifeline for farmers and a model of sustainable water management, these earthen channels are now being replaced by concrete structures, with serious consequences for the region’s delicate ecosystem.

Constructed and maintained by local communities for generations, kuhls transported water from mountain streams to farmlands across the valley. These unlined, earthen channels not only sustained agriculture but also nurtured diverse flora and fauna, including amphibians, butterflies, insects and aquatic plants. The moist beds of kuhls served as microhabitats, fostering biodiversity and aiding pollination.

However, recent development projects aimed at ‘modernising’ the system have led to widespread concretisation of these channels. “Concrete blocks natural seepage, which is vital for groundwater recharge,” says a local environmentalist. “What we now see is stagnant, stinking water — stripped of the life it once supported.”

Vegetation like shaival (aquatic moss) has all but vanished, triggering the disappearance of native shrubs and severely impacting the breeding of pollinators and other species. Without seepage, the surrounding soil has dried out, reducing ambient moisture that once contributed to localised rainfall — especially in ecologically sensitive zones like Dharamsala.

Critics argue that these changes stem from a lack of ecological literacy among administrators, who fail to grasp the scientific wisdom embedded in traditional systems. “The kuhls worked 24/7 for centuries without harming nature. We should have preserved and enhanced them, not destroyed them,” lamented a local elder.

The kuhl system, first introduced some 300 years ago by the Katoch Kings of Kangra, is now at a crossroads. As the valley grapples with the fallout of misguided modernisation, voices are rising in favour of returning to sustainable, community-led practices rooted in indigenous knowledge and ecological harmony.