Restoration of waterbodies near Tughlaqabad Fort undertaken by Jamia Hamdard

Jamia Hamdard has started working on a project in collaboration with the central government to revive the stepwells, or baolis, at Tughlaqabad Fort. The team is currently working on a proposal on how it will revive the reservoirs, while considering alternatives such as rainwaster harvesting. The proposal will also mention ways on how it can make the water bodies more scenic, making it a vibrant space for the public to hang out at.

Sapna Jain, project coordinator and assistant professor in Jamia Hamdard’s department of computer science, says, “Our primary aim is to inspire and encourage India’s youth to protect, rejuvenate, and preserve traditional waterbodies to ensure water security.”

The project, which will look at reviving three waterbodies around the area, has been taken up by the university team under the Mission Amrit Sarovar – Jal Dharohar Sanrakshan, with the Union housing and urban affairs ministry and All India Council of Technical Education.

The three waterbodies, or stepwells are the one near the fort’s Delhi Gate, the pond near Churiya Muhalla, and the stepwell at Tughlaqabad Meena Bazaar. The students working on the projects have visited the sites and collected information such as the current condition of the waterbodies, type of walls, material used for these walls, type of vegetation, ecosystem in the region, and hydrology of the region.

After the initial assessment, the team has recommended the construction of direct water inlet. The area near the gates needs to be renovated with construction of stairs to access the baoli from the gate. It has also recommended clearing the area of unwanted plantation, like the toxic black nightshade which grows in abundance. The team also visited the baoli at Nizamuddin to understand and learn from its restoration process.

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