In parts of Gujarat, the same rain that floods a farmer’s field during the monsoon may be desperately needed just a few months later. Waterlogging can damage crops, while the long dry season that follows leaves farmers struggling for irrigation.

Biplab Ketan Paul began wondering if farmers could somehow save that excess rain instead of losing it. The answer became Bhungroo, a system developed in Gujarat that sends surplus monsoon water underground, where it can be stored and pumped back up during the dry season.

The idea tackles two problems at once: too much water during heavy rains and too little when crops need irrigation.

An idea born from Gujarat’s water crisis

Biplab Ketan Paul had spent years working with communities in Gujarat when the 2001 earthquake brought him closer to the region’s water problems. He saw farmers struggle with an unusual cycle: months of water scarcity followed by monsoon rains intense enough to leave their fields waterlogged.

That contradiction led to a practical question: could the excess rain flooding farms be stored underground and brought back when farmers actually needed it?

Working with engineers and local women farmers, whose knowledge of their soil, fields and rainfall shaped the process, Paul began developing what would eventually become Bhungroo. The first version of the rainwater filtration and storage system was ready in 2004, after years of experimentation and trial and error. 

The name itself refers to a hollow pipe in Gujarati, which is essentially at the heart of the idea.

So, how does Bhungroo work?

Bhungroo uses a fairly simple idea: move excess rainwater away from the surface and store it underground until farmers need it. 

A Bhungroo unit begins with a small cemented collection pit. During heavy rain,........

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