For decades, the stepwell at the edge of the old town was a dumping ground. Its carved steps disappeared under rubble, plastic and silt. Most residents under forty did not know it existed.
In 2023, a group of college students started clearing it on weekends. Two years and 300 volunteers later, the baori’s eleven levels are visible again, and after a good monsoon it holds water to the sixth step.
Heritage that works
Stepwells were built to store rainwater through dry months. Once cleared, this one began recharging nearby wells, and families who had relied on tankers report that their handpumps are running again.
We came to save a monument. We ended up saving water.
The volunteers have written a short guide on safe desilting and are helping three other towns map their own forgotten stepwells.
