 Ranthambore
Fort
About 5,000 people once lived in the fort, which is now situated in
the Ranthambore National Park. It has five large water bodies -- Jangali
Talab, Suksagar Talab, Kalasagar, Padmala Talab and Ranee haud -- that
have a natural catchment, a perennial spring named Gupt Ganga, and a
large tank. Water was taken from the wells next to talabs that later
recharged wells. All major structures in the fort are around these
well-distributed water bodies.
During war, water would be released from the fort openings to ward off
the advancing enemy. Another tactic was to throw boiling water onto the
enemy from above!
 Amber
and Jaigarh Forts
The Jaigarh fort (400 feet above the ancient capital of the
state, Amber fort) was built to enhance the strength of Amber. It has
wide water channels, and three underground tanks. The largest tank could
store 60,00,000 gallons of water. Rumours abound that it contains hidden
treasure. But, the Indian Government searched for it in 1976 and found
nothing.
To sum up, the forts of Rajasthan made
excellent use of their natural catchments. Some areas were contoured to
help in collecting runoff. Wells and kunds on their tops never even
dried up. Stone quarrying for building purposes was done in such a way
that the pit could later be used as a reservoir. Water from some
reservoirs overflowed into another.
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Mehrangarh Fort,
Jodhpur once harvested runoff from the rocky plateau and well
seepages |
Even if a reservoir dried up, its
seepage was harvested. Thus, the forts could withstand wars and sieges
for years without difficulty.
FOUNTAINS IN DESERT
It is neither a daydream, nor a mirage.
There are fountain springs in palaces and forts in the desert of
Rajasthan such as in the Nagaur Fort
Nagaur fort used underground
water, drawn mechanically and channelled by gravity flows, to
create fountains with the aid of pressure differences. There
were hot and cold water supply arrangements in the hammams (bath
houses) as well!
● To ensure even distribution
and equal water pressure, earthen pots were inserted between the
underground water pipes and the base of fountain nozzles. These
pots stored water until the pressure on each was uniform,
ensuring that the water from all the fountains rose to the same
height.
● Aqueduct and floor channels, and clay pipes were the
transporting elements.
● Used water from fountains, tanks, as well as rainwater from
terraces and paved courts, was harvested, stored and reused.
● Small and large collection tanks, sedimentation or settling
tanks were used for water treatment. Charcoal, pebbles and
sand were used for filtering.
● Excess surface water was channellised into the main drain,
which finally discharged into the external moat (man-made water
body running all around the fort).
Rainwater runoff from the ramparts and underground channels from
nearby water bodies also replenished these moats. The water
flowing in the moat not only provided security for the fort but
also recharged the step wells located in the walls.
● The fort had an efficient system to dispose wastewater from
kitchen, hammams and toilets. The main components of this system
are concealed earthen pipes. The sludge from toilet was removed
manually and disposed, while the ablution water from toilets was
carried separately through covered floor drains into the branch
drains. The wastewater, collected in separate concealed earthen
pipe, was disposed in a depression within the fort.
It is
hydraulics at its best, in terms of design and execution |
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