<
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/feb/26/ancient-stepwells-brought-back-india-run-out-water-day-zero>
"A loud cheer and sounds of clapping reverberated around Bansilalpet, a
neighbourhood in Hyderabad, when the first trickle of clean water dribbled out
of the ground. After an 18-month effort to clear out 3,000 tonnes of rubbish
and restore the stone walls and adjacent area, the 17th-century Bansilalpet
stepwell had become a source of clean drinking water for the first time in four
decades.
“It was such a joyous moment to see water collecting into the stepwell after
clearing 40 years of garbage,” says Hajira Adeeb, a 45-year-old resident of
Bansilalpet, who grew up seeing the well become transformed from the
community’s water source to a dumping ground. “I visit almost every day. The
area is clean and lit up in the evenings. I enjoy sitting there.”
India is famed for its stepwells – multi-storey structures built to provide
access to groundwater, with steps and platforms descending to the water level.
Thousands were built across the country near natural aquifers – underground
porous rock saturated with water – mostly between the 11th and 18th centuries.
The wells were abandoned under the rule of the British, who considered them
unhygienic and largely prohibited their use, and deteriorated further in the
late 20th century when people started to use them as a place to discard
rubbish.
While many wells have disappeared or crumbled, the
Stepwell Atlas, a
collaborative effort between researchers and organisations including the Indian
National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach), lists more than 3,000.
About 100 are in the southern Indian state of Telangana, with nearly half of
these in the state’s capital, Hyderabad.
Stepwells range widely in size and architectural detail, and some of the
biggest and most striking have been restored. Among the best-known examples are
the 9th-century Chand Baori in Abhaneri, Rajasthan, which has 3,500 steps
cascading down the sides of an enormous central tank in an intricate crisscross
pattern; the Unesco-listed Rani-ki Vav in Gujarat, with ornately covered tiers
and thousands of sculptures of Hindu gods and goddesses; and Agrasen-ki Baoli,
a 60-metre-long well in the middle of a Delhi street.
But these are heritage sites, popular with domestic and international tourists
– and in the case of Chand Baori, Bollywood film directors – and they do not
provide usable water. Of the thousands of stepwells that have fallen into
disrepair, only a small number have been restored for their original purpose:
providing water for domestic and local use such as washing, cleaning and
gardening; fewer still provide drinking water.
The well at Bansilalpet was the first of its kind in Telangana to do so and has
become a template for the revival of other stepwells in the state. Since its
restoration was completed in December 2022, the well has consistently
maintained a water depth of nine metres (28ft) in the summer months.
The transformation is thanks to the architect Kalpana Ramesh, who has now
revived 25 stepwells in the state as sustainable sources of water, with the
support of Telangana’s Municipal Administration and Urban Development
Department, and the Rainwater Project, a social enterprise she co-founded."
Via Susan ****
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*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
