Malariological and sociological significance of ‘tanka’ and ‘beri’ in the Thar Desert, Western Rajasthan, India

Both ‘tanka’ and ‘beri’, the well-like structures made for storing drinking water fetched from distant places or superficially charged from the runoff water of the monsoon rains, are considered integral components of rural communities in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan State in north-western India.A. stephensi, the confirmed malaria vector in desert regions, breeds in these structures predominantly.