Neher water system provided clean water for the people of

Aurangabad Aurangabad (), officially renamed as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in 2023, is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Aurangabad district and is the largest city in the Marathwada region. Located on a ...

and its

suburbs A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

. It was created by Malik Ambar who founded the town under the name Khadki and was later expanded by

Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...

to facilitate the military activity that became prevalent under

Mughal rule The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

during the 17th century. Aurangabad city

History

The first aqueduct in Aurangabad was designed in 1612 by Malik Ambar to address the shortage of water caused by the lack of reservoirs and natural water reserves in the area. Despite the surrounding landscape, which made it difficult to construct the aqueducts' supporting pillars, the construction went ahead. The reason for the construction of the aqueduct was the discovery of a subterranean water supply in the mountainous valleys north of Aurangabad. The consequent construction of the

waterway A waterway is any Navigability, navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other ways. A first distinction is ...

provided a stable water supply for a population of around seven

lakhs A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2, 2, 3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. For ...

(around seven hundred thousand people), with the city of Aurangabad receiving enough fresh water to prevent the shortages that had previously occurred. The aqueduct was named Khair-E-Jari. The construction of such aqueducts continued from 1612 until 1803 with two more aqueducts constructed by engineers such as Malik Ambar, Shah Mehmood of Panchakki, and Shah Ali Nahri. Medieval Water Management of Aurangabad City
/ref> Malik Ambar's design was not well received and it was described by Vazir Mullah Mohammad as imaginary and preposterous. However, Malik Ambar managed to construct it within fifteen months, at half the estimated cost.

Mughal era water works

The Aurangabad Gazetteer of 1884 states: "The supply of water is abundant. The Ganda or Kham river washes the western walls and the Bayan Khan nalla passes through the center of the town. Besides these streams, aqueducts convey water from the hills utilizing stone conduits, and the supply is distributed through innumerable pipes and fountains. In Aurangzeb's time, a large

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

or tank extended the whole length of the northern wall, but the dampness proved unhealthy and he ordered the portion immediately in front of his palace to be filled in and converted into fields. The remainder is known as the Khizri talao and is just beyond the Delhi gate. The Kanval or Loti talao was fed by a spring and was confined in the hollow between the palace of Aurangzeb and the Mecca gate, but the band was purposely destroyed to save the town from being flooded." The town of Aurangabad receives its

water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Th ...

from springs or wells connected with small underground

masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...

pipes. The principal watercourses are fourteen in number, with the most important amongst them being the

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

that drew its water from the river near Harsul. Gazetter of Aurangabad - H. H. The Nizam's Government 1884. (Chapter XI page 805 - 877)

Nahr-e-Ambari water course

The city of Aurangabad had several water sources that supplied the city. These were deemed necessary as the city had a large military population to support. The courses that have been recorded are: # A canal that branched at Gaumukh. One of these branches provided water to Shah Ganj and the surrounding area whilst the other branch passed the Barakul gate and provided water to the Naukonda palace, Juna

bazaar A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets th ...

and the suburbs of Chauk and Gul Mandi. One of the syphons has been damaged which is preventing water from flowing through it. # The Panchakki waterpipe began at a well which was situated above a junction between the Harsul river and a tributary. It provided water to the Panchakki reservoir. # The Begampura canal, the canal near the Mahomedan garden and the river in between the walls of Aurangabad and the Begampura suburb. # The Palsi water pipe originated from a well near the village of Palsi. The water was carried through a 252-foot long dam to a cistern, where it was then directed to the Baijipura suburb and the Sadar Talukdar garden. At present, the pipe is blocked with silt, with the result being that only a small amount of water can flow through in the wet season. # The Shah Ali Nahr commenced from a well near Devalgaon and supplies a cistern attached to the

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

of Shah Ali # An open irrigation channel takes water from a dam near the Aurangabad cantonment # A pipe from Suker supplied two areas with water. # Latchman Doss Bairagi's pipe, to the north of Baijapura # Lall Munkirar's pipe, which drew its water from a tank north of Baijipura # Dul Badul's pipe, near the village of Garkala. There was also a pipe that led from the same village and supplied water to the cavalry lines. # A small pipe which began at Chuasur gardens and also supplied the cavalry lines. # Two pipes, one of which began in the village of Devlai whilst the other began in the Sattara hills. These two pipes united south of the cavalry lines. Of the watercourses listed above, four still supply water to the city of Aurangabad.

Nizam era water works

The construction of the first modern water supply system began in 1932 at the request of the

Nizam Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State ( part of the Indian state of Telangana, and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). ''Nizam'' is a shortened form of (; ), and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I ...

and was completed in 1933, for Rs. 35,50,00. (350,000 rupees) A settling tank with a capacity of 4.64 lakh (464,000) gallons was installed near the Gaumukh service reservoir and the distributary system was expanded. Due to the rapidly increasing population, another water supply system was constructed for Rs. 30,56,579 (a little over 300,000 rupees). The Harsul and Kham rivers were tapped, a reservoir constructed in the Osmanpura area, a filtration system was installed to purify the water and the distributary system was enlarged (although there was a proposal to overhaul the entire system rather than enlarge it).

References

External links