In Dihra, a small village 28 km southwest of Bihar 's capital Patna, was facing water shortage. The canal that brings water from Sone canal river failed to meet their irrigation demands. Led by four young people, the village decided to construct the ahar-pyne system of water harvesting. A pyne is a channel constructed to utilise water flowing through rivers to fields where the water is distributed to villagers. Ahar is a rectangular basin built at the end of a pyne with embankments on three sides. This stores water. Once this asset was created in Dihra, the village had to arm itself to protect the resources from Naxalites. At the end of it all, the villagers had a pleasant surprise in store. Four tubewells near the ahar , previously dry, showed water. The villagers had inadvertently undertaken what they now know is groundwater recharging.