Town Planning & Drainage System of

Indus Valley Civilization (Harappan

Civilization)
Town Planning System
The Town Planning System of Indus Valley Civilization (Harappan Civilization) was
city based. The excellent drainage and sanitation systems are remarkable.

Urban Cities: The Indus civilization flourished around cities. The ruins of the cities, so
far unearthed, show remarkable town planning, and excellent system of drainage and
sanitation of the Indus Valley Civilization. The city was the heart of the civilization. The
life in the Indus cities gives the impression of “a democratic bourgeois economy” like
that of ancient Crete.

Large cities divided into two parts: Both at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro and also at
Kalibangan, the city was divided into two main parts. The higher and upper portion of
the city was protected by a construction which looks like a fort. The ruling class of the
towns perhaps lived in the protected area. The other part of the towns was lower in
height than the former and common men lived in this area. The lower area of the towns
generally spread over one square mile.

Streets
The main streets of Indus Valley ran from north to south and east to west intersecting
one another at right angles. The streets were broad varying from 9 feet to 34 feet.
They ran straight to a mile. They were suitable for wheeled traffic. Lanes were joined
with the streets. Each lane had a public welt. Street lamps were provided for welfare
of public.

Systematically built Buildings and Houses

The nature of the buildings at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro shows that the town
dwellers were divided into various social classes. The rich and the ruling class lived in
the multi-roomed spacious houses and the poorer section lived in small tenements.
The public building and big houses were situated on the streets. The modest houses
were situated on the lanes. Encroachment on public roads or lanes by building houses
was not permitted. The houses can be divided into three main groups viz.

 dwelling houses,
 larger buildings,
 Public baths.
Smaller houses had two rooms, while larger houses had many rooms. There were
courtyards attached to big buildings. There was little artistic touch in the architectural
design of the buildings belonging either to the rich or the poor. They were plain,
utilitarian and comfortable to live. Some of the buildings were probably multi-storied.

Most of the houses had baths, wells and covered drains connected with street drains.
Ordinary buildings had little ventilation arrangements, as doors and windows were
rarely fixed in the outer walls. Doors of entrance were fixed not on the front wall but on
the side walls. One could enter a house by the door facing the side lanes of the house.
The doors were made of wood. Large buildings had spacious doors.

Building Materials
There was no stone built house in the Indus cities. Most of the houses were built of
burnt bricks. But unburnt sun-dried bricks were also used. That portion of the buildings
where contamination with water was possible, burnt bricks were used. For other parts
sun-dried bricks were used. Most of the bricks were of equal size. The staircases of
big buildings were solid; the roofs were flat and were made of wood.

Drainage System
The elaborate drainage system was a remarkable feature of the civilization. According
to D. D. Kosambi, the drainage plans of the Indus cities definitely establish the
separate identity or independent character of the Indus civilization. No ancient
civilization before the Roman civilization had such an advanced drainage and
sanitation system.

Each house had horizontal and vertical drains. There were underground drains for the
streets. These drains were covered by stone slabs. The soak pits were made of bricks.
The house drains were connected with road drains. House drains emptied themselves
into the main drains which ran under the main streets and below many lanes.

The drainage system and drains were covered with bricks or stones and were provided
with inspection traps and main holes at regular intervals for inspection. The conduits
to the main drains running through the middle of the streets below pavement level and
covered with flat stones and sturdy tile bricks. The covered drain was connected to the
larger sewerage outlets which finally led the dirty water outside the populated areas.
Every care was taken that the house-wives did not throw refuse or dirt in the drains.
Every house had its own soak-pit which collected all the sediments and allowed only
the water to flow into the street drain. The urban plan found in these cities included
the world’s first urban sanitation and shows that they had developed a high sense of
health and sanitation systems. The elaborate brick-lined drainage system for the
removal of rainwater is of unparalleled engineering skill.
Great Public Bath and Granary of Indus Valley
Civilization
There is an impressive building which was used as a public bath. The overall
dimension of the Bath is 180 feet by 108 feet. The bathing pool is 39 feet by 23 feet
with 8 feet depth. There is a device to fill and empty the water of the bathing pool.
There are galleries and rooms on all sides of the bathing pool. Dr. Kosambi has
provided an interpretation of the bathing pool and the adjoining rooms which is
ingenuous. According to him, men used to bathe in the tanks as a ritual for the mother
goddess to whom the citadel belonged. This public bath was attached to the Mohenjo-
Daro fort where upper class people lived. Among the other large buildings there was
a big hall which was perhaps used for public meeting.

There is the ruin of a great granary at Harappa measuring 169 fit x 135 fit. Attached to
the granary were two roomed tenements with a common courtyard. These tenements
housed the workers or the slaves who thrashed the corn to be preserved in the
granary.

Declining Stage of the City

The advanced style of the Indus city life found in the earlier layers is absent in the later
layers. In later layers there was a marked decline in civic discipline. Buildings
encroached on the roads. Lanes were chocked with klins. Slums grew around. At
Harappa and more clearly, at Mohenjo-Daro excavation has revealed the general
shape of town planning system of the Indus Valley Civilization.

Conclusion
Modern archaeologists have been impressed by the perfectness of the town planning
system of the Indus Valley civilization. The systematic construction of residential
houses and public buildings, laying down of principal streets, etc. are comparable with
the modern day city planning.