Client
Baaram Baavi
Location
Narayanpet, Hyderabad, Telangana
Type
Well
Annual Rainwater Potential
30.0 lac litres
Result - Savings Annually
30.0 Lac Litres of Rainwater
Located 170 km to the southwest of Hyderabad, lies the beautiful Narayanpet, famous for its trademark sarees and jewelry. Home to a significant number of step wells.
One of which is the Baaram baavi, Built by the Bagoji family with a unique blend of Telangana – Maratha style evident in the house of Narayanpet. This stepwell addresses the ritualistic water needs of the locals.
Cut to the present, it has lost the status of a quintessential cultural icon.
Problem
“The current scenario of water mismanagement, urban flooding, and droughts.”
The precinct was covered in a blanket of garbage and weeds. A vast majority of the garbage was dominated by plastics, but it was just the tip of the iceberg. The years of neglect are taken as an advantage by certain people, who have been using this precinct for drinking and other anti-social activities. The steps leading to water, the Baaram baavi also has a beautiful mandapam, which is in a dilapidated condition today.
Solution
It is very intriguing to know that there are around 80 wells/step wells in the 11 mandals of the Narayanpet district. The architectural style of each step well is unique and predominantly influenced by the origins of its benefactors. The Maharashtrian roots of the Bagoji family are reflected in the architectural style of the Baaram baavi.
Based on the idea for a training workshop by Kalpana Ramesh in collaboration with the Aakarma foundation, a training session was organized by the district collector.
Workshop
The workshop began with an orientation session on the required skill set for restoration, by Ar.Kaushik and water conservationist Kalpana Ramesh, at the Baaram baavi. The district technical engineering team was also present to aid in the clean up of weed plantation, plastics and garbage, dewatering, and desilting.
The MNREGA workers along with the technical team were trained in careful removal of all kinds of vegetation from the structures.
Trained the local villagers to join hands to clean the well.
Bathukamma Festival
In an effort to revive historic step wells in the state, the founder of ‘The Rainwater Project’ Kalpana Ramesh organised Bathukamma celebrations along with cultural activities around the Baram Baavi in Narayanpet district on Thursday.
Result
Successfully curated an event along with district authorities as a step to a larger vision of restoring stepwells at narayanpet
