Drought-prone Bengaluru’s demand for water was originally met by an interlinked system of lakes and wells. Lakes were built on existing low lying land and were important culturally. Wells dotted the city in the thousands. Large and intricate stone structures, they boasted of an innate craftsmanship and engagement. Stone steps spiralling down their length, handcrafted pulleys, a second well within a well – these were not uncommon to wells in Bengaluru. Water in wells was used for irrigation and other domestic purposes.
As the city expanded, it relied on the provision of water from distant sources such as the Cauvery river. Most residents in the city centre are supplied water every alternate day. On days that pattern is missed, people are inconvenienced.
Analysis of a series of maps from 1888 to the present day show the linkage between the disappearance of urban agriculture, and the loss of open wells in Bengaluru. Over a thousand wells were found, most located within a distance of 200 metres from lakes, replenished by ground water stored in these reservoirs. As the city’s population increased, demand for land and the easy availability of piped water from the distant Cauvery led to construction over hundreds of wells. Other wells were abandoned, converted into garbage dumps.
Not all is lost, however. Smaller open wells are still found in individual homes. Wells used exclusively by the dhobhi community for laundering clothes are well maintained. Other well preserved wells are those relied on by communities in impoverished areas.
Many wells have the potential to be revived and used as recharge structures to help enhance groundwater. Take the gorgeous, ornate and massive well right in the middle of Lal-Bagh – it is being used as a garbage dump, but still retains enough potential to be revived. Or a well used as a dump in Ulsoor, bounded on all four sides by apartments, through which sunshine can still capture the sparkle of water. A spectacular well in the old Begur fort still contains water, dimly glimpsed from above.
There are many reasons for wells to go out of use. Yet, the loss of wells reduces the capacity of the city to respond to the depleting ground water levels across the city. We need to revive a public discourse around open wells, appreciating and reinstating the forethought and wisdom that went into the planning of these structures.
(This is the fourth part in the series, "A City's Water Chronicles". The first and second parts were published on Monday,Tuesday and Wednesday: >Blessings and curses: the construction of lakes in Bengaluru,>Sampangi Lake: Lessons from history and >The sacred lakes of Bengaluru .)
Hita Unnikrishnan is from the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment. Harini Nagendra works on Sustainability at Azim Premji University.
