New Surang Bavi line found

The underground drinking water ducts were built by the Bahmani kings in the 14-15th century. Photo: By Special Arrangement

Workers digging the road for a sewerage line found another Surang Bavi / Karez channel behind the Bal Bhavan in Bidar on Wednesday. The underground drinking water ducts were built by the Bahmani kings in the 14-15th century. Experts have identified a network of six such lines around the fort city. Wednesday’s discovery is the seventh line.

Workers attached to the Karnataka urban infrastructure development finance corporation were digging a trench in the middle of the road to lay a box drain. One of them noticed a nine-square-feet square-shaped well with an arch over it. It has plenty of water, just 20 feet below the ground. "We stopped work and informed the Deputy commissioner Anurag Tewari," officials said.

"It looks like it stretches from the jail colony in the south east towards the fort," said Sabeesh Dande, a member of the NGO Team Yuva, that is mapping the surangs in the city. "A foot map will be prepared soon," he said.

"This strengthens the hypothesis that Surang Bavis are spread all over the city," said Govindan Kutty, researcher from Kerala University who identified the first surang channel in Naubad in Bidar in 2010. "We have to implement our urban development plans so as not to damage these historic structures. We should also realize that protecting them will yield unlimited supply of water,’’ he said.

"In a sense, Bidar is sitting on a gold mine of sweet drinking water. We will strive to conserve these structures," Mr Tewari said. "Tourism minister R.V. Deshpande announced a grant of Rs. 3 crore for cleaning, dredging and beautification of the Surang Bavi system last year. Cleaning of around 2 km of the 3.3-km Naubad Surang was completed after around 90 labourers worked for a year. Sharat Kumar and other consultants from Deccan Heritage Foundation and Indian Heritage Cities Network have prepared a comprehensive plan for beautification, he said. A team of experts from IIT Hyderabad will visit the Surang to suggest ways to strengthen it from the inside, according to the Deputy Commissioner.