I always used to question the necessity of studying history in school, but now its importance is more than evident. We can learn a lot from historic records in relation to better manage our present and build a future. This is especially true in the field of managing our environment and natural resources, in which water is the most essential one. My professor always used to mention, that water is a resource and not a commodity. Yet, you know we are headed towards that phase of the future, where we have to pay to get safe drinking water, whatever the cost it may be. It is during this pressing time, I started thinking how water was effectively managed in the past. How did our ancestors face drought and floods in the past? What technological and managerial skills did they incorporate to ensure water for all?
My bachelor’s dissertation (2014) and later a two month internship at BIOME (2015) looked at the historical perspective of water management in Bengaluru. Bengaluru, located on Deccan plateau at an average elevation of 920 m above sea level, does not have any major rivers flowing in its vicinity. Early explorers and settlers had to face a situation of relatively low water compared to other places. They mostly depended on open wells which were fed by shallow aquifers. Yet they strove for a perennial source and constructed tanks (colloquially called lakes). These tanks were replenished with water during monsoon. The open wells were dug next to these tanks, which fed them through shallow aquifers. In spite of the tanks going dry during summer, the wells next to tanks had enough water to sustain till next monsoon. The tank waters were thus used for agricultural purposes and cattle washing. This was the beginning of an amazing and intricately detailed network of tank system that fed Bengaluru for almost eight centuries.
Historians have addressed Bengaluru to be a land of troubled reigns. It has seen many battles and a diverse group of rulers in its history. But all the rulers, starting from the Gangas, Cholas and the Hoysalas, understood the topography of the region and revered tanks for providing them water. The water timeline between 1110 to 1533 AD comprehensively sheds light on this very fact Water timeline of Bengaluru (1110-1533).
Yet, the true beginning of tank networks began during the time of Kempegowda’s rule in the 16th century. The Vijaynagara empire’s palegar (chieftain) constructed and renovated many tanks in his period, and his successors followed the practice meticulously. Some of the famous tanks constructed by Kempegowdas were Kempambudhi, Siddikatte and Sampangi tanks, two of which have sadly been enchroached upon completely today. The details of developments done in water fronts during Kempegowda’s reign is presented in this timeline Water timeline of Bengaluru (1537-1678).
It is evident that our early ancestors had profound knowledge on maintaining waters, where it constantly flows (as Bengaluru is located at an elevation, water is not stagnant but keeps flowing continuously). As my professor used to say, “They (Kempegowdas) made the gushing water trickle (in terms of series and networks of tanks built and connected to each other so as to have the water flow, from higher to lower elevation, slowly).” It is thus important to protect these man made tanks and the channels that connect them for the betterment of the ever growing and bustling Bengaluru city.
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