Quick answer: A surangam (also called suranga or tunnel well) is a hand-dug horizontal tunnel cut into a laterite hillside. Groundwater seeps into it and flows out by gravity, with no pump needed. In late October 2026, it was reported that a project to restore these traditional tunnels will be rolled out in eight grama panchayats of Kasaragod district, Keralam (formerly Kerala).
Why surangams are in the news
A restoration project for Kasaragod’s surangams will begin in eight grama panchayats: Kayyur-Cheemeni, Kodom-Belur, Kallar, Pallikkara, Bedadka, Puthige, Chengala and Kumbla. According to reports from 30 October 2026, the work will draw heavily on workers under the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), the new rural employment scheme. The Kerala Regional Office of the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) is giving technical guidance. The project aims to improve groundwater recharge, hold back monsoon rain and keep rivers flowing as rainfall becomes more erratic.
A note on the name: the state is now officially Keralam. Parliament passed the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026 in August, and the Home Ministry notified 25 August 2026 as the date the change took effect.
Key facts about surangams
- Where: mainly Kasaragod (Keralam) and neighbouring Dakshina Kannada (Karnataka), where steep laterite hills make bore wells costly.
- How it works: a 2021 CGWB study in the Journal of Earth System Science explains that the tunnel is laid horizontally or slightly inclined, just above the lithomarge clay layer. Water seeping through the porous laterite collects on the walls and drains out by gravity into a tank or dug well.
- Designs: single, criss-cross and diversion tunnels.
- Seasonal yield: in Bedadka panchayat in 2019, surangam discharge ranged from 0.078 to 13.29 cubic metres a day before the monsoon and 172.8 to 691.2 cubic metres a day during the monsoon. Twelve of the inventoried tunnels ran dry that summer.
- Numbers: estimates range from about 5,000 to around 10,000 (the latter by writer Shree Padre for Kasaragod alone).
- Main threat: neglect. Without upkeep, walls cave in during the rains, and the CGWB authors warned that the structures are disappearing fast.
How a surangam is built
Local diggers who learnt the craft from their elders pick the spot by reading the slope, the soil and moisture-loving plants. They dig by hand, mostly in the dry months, because wet laterite collapses easily, and long tunnels get air shafts. The surangam is often compared with the qanat of Iran, an ancient groundwater tunnel, but a direct link has not been proven.
Traditional water-harvesting systems of India
Exams often ask candidates to match a water system to its state. The table below draws on the India Water Portal’s state-wise list (based on the Centre for Science and Environment’s Dying Wisdom) and the NCERT Class 10 chapter on water resources.
| System | State / region | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Surangam / suranga | Keralam (Kasaragod), Karnataka (Dakshina Kannada) | Horizontal tunnel well in laterite |
| Kuhl (gul / kul) | Himachal Pradesh, western Himalaya | Channels that divert stream or glacier water to fields |
| Johad | Rajasthan | Small earthen check dam that stores runoff and recharges groundwater |
| Khadin | Rajasthan (Jaisalmer area) | Earthen embankment across a slope; the moist bed behind it is farmed |
| Tanka / kundi | Rajasthan, Gujarat | Underground tank that collects rain from roofs or courtyards for drinking |
| Vav / baoli (stepwell) | Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh | Well reached by flights of steps |
| Ahar–pyne | South Bihar | Reservoirs (ahar) fed by channels (pyne) that divert river water |
| Eri | Tamil Nadu (also Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka) | Chain of tanks fed by rivers and rain |
| Zabo | Nagaland | Rain from forested hilltops collected in ponds, then used for cattle and terraced paddy |
| Bamboo drip irrigation | Meghalaya | Bamboo pipes carry spring water downhill to plants |
Exam angle: how NDA, CDS and CAPF can ask this
- Match-the-following questions pairing a water system with a state are common in geography. Surangam–Keralam, zabo–Nagaland and kuhl–Himachal Pradesh are frequent pairs.
- Laterite soils (Western Ghats, high rainfall, leached of minerals) explain why surangams developed here. Revise soil types along with this topic.
- The Keralam rename is fresh polity GK. It was done under Article 3, which empowers Parliament to change a state’s name.
- CGWB comes under the Ministry of Jal Shakti. Expect questions on bodies that deal with groundwater.
Practice MCQs
Q1. Surangams are traditionally found in:
(a) Kutch, Gujarat (b) Kasaragod, Keralam (c) Ladakh (d) Bundelkhand
Answer: (b). Surangams are tunnel wells of Kasaragod and the adjoining Dakshina Kannada district.
Q2. Surangams are usually dug into which type of material?
(a) Alluvium (b) Black cotton soil (c) Laterite (d) Sand dunes
Answer: (c). They are cut into porous laterite hills, just above a clay layer.
Q3. Match the system with its state: Zabo – ?
(a) Nagaland (b) Bihar (c) Rajasthan (d) Tamil Nadu
Answer: (a). Zabo is a pond-based system of Nagaland. Ahar–pyne belongs to Bihar and eri to Tamil Nadu.
Q4. The ancient water-tunnel system often compared with surangams is the:
(a) Johad (b) Qanat (c) Kuhl (d) Tanka
Answer: (b). The qanat of Iran also draws groundwater through a sloping tunnel.
Frequently asked questions
What is a surangam?
It is a traditional horizontal tunnel well dug into a laterite hill. Groundwater seeps into the tunnel and flows out by gravity into a storage tank.
Which panchayats are reviving surangams?
Kayyur-Cheemeni, Kodom-Belur, Kallar, Pallikkara, Bedadka, Puthige, Chengala and Kumbla in Kasaragod district.
Why do surangams need reviving?
Many have fallen into disuse. Without maintenance their walls cave in during the rains, and some dry up in summer.
Is it Kerala or Keralam?
The state’s official name has been Keralam since 25 August 2026, after Parliament passed the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Act, 2026.
Also read on NCA: Monthly defence current affairs PDFs | NDA coaching in Chandigarh
Sources: Joji, Gayen & Saha (CGWB), Journal of Earth System Science, 2021, India Water Portal, Civil Society (Shree Padre), project details as reported 30 Oct 2026, Onmanorama (Keralam notification). Facts as reported up to 31 October 2026.
Featured image background: Vssun / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
