The first river-linking project

It was 1890. On August 13th, a delegation led by Prince Arthur, the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was visiting Udaipur. Prince Arthur, the third son of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, was the Commander-in-Chief of the Bombay Army. 

To commemorate his visit, Maharana Fateh Singh, the reigning ruler of the State of Udaipur, requested the royal dignitary to lay the foundation stone of a dam at Devali near Udaipur. 

The Maharana, in honour of Prince Arthur, named it the ‘Connaught Dam’. Prince Arthur complimented a British engineer, Campbell Thompson, working on the project.

A feeder canal called ‘Chikalwas feeder’ was constructed to divert the surplus rainwater of Ahar river towards the Devali Talab now being renovated. 

The 200-year-old Devali Talab had seen disuse and destruction. Prince Arthur, in turn, requested the Maharana to rename the lake as ‘Fateh Sagar’ to cement their friendly ties. Today, 119 years after the historic event, the entire project is referred to as the world’s first river-linking project. 

“It’s a unique example of water conservation and management anywhere in the world,” said Dr. Narpat Singh Rathore, former professor of geography, ML Sukhadia University, Udaipur. 

Decades later in 1933, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was founded in the US, as part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal. Campbell Thompson who worked on the Udaipur projects, migrated to the US and was employed by TVA. 

The micro-history of water resource management in Mewar is filled with fascinating dots, which are waiting to be joined together. 

Dr Rathore’s research reveals deeper insights into watershed management, river diversion and river linkage in the region of Mewar over the last 700 years. “Udaipur the ‘city of lakes’ is actually a network of eight man-made lakes which have given the city its character and sustainability,” he explains.  

His paper on ‘Water Resource Management: A study of the world’s first man-made river links, river diversion and micro watershed of Udaipur basin’ lists the eight linkages: Goverdhan Sagar to Lake Pichola; Lake Pichola is linked to Doodh Talai, Amarkund and Kumharia Talab with channels; Kumharia Talab is linked to Rang Sagar; Rang Sagar, in turn, has link channels to Amar Kund and Swaroop Sagar; it is Swaroop Sagar that overflows into the Fateh Sagar through the eighth link channel. 

The story begins with Maharana Lakha who, in today’s terminology, was instrumental in watershed area planning. Between 1382-1385, Lake Pichola was constructed across the Kotra or Sisarma river. 

It has a total water body area of almost 7 sq. km. “It is the creation of a natural asset,” said Dr Rathore, “the city of Udaipur gets defined by Lake Pichola and successive generations of Maharanas of Mewar provide more lakes, in fact more lifelines for the city from the 14th to 20th centuries.” 

The expertise demonstrated in the construction of Lake Pichola as a water body in the 14th CE is in sync with scientific and technological developments at the zinc mines of Zawar, as detailed in Dr Paul T Craddock’s report titled ‘The production of lead, silver and zinc in ancient India’. (Read DNA Opinion 29-3-19 and 6-5-19) A good working knowledge of hydrology, pneumatics, hydrostatics, geology and competence in mathematics would have been essential for these achievements, wrote Dr Craddock.  

Following the example of Maharana Lakha, the network of lakes was constructed which, as Dr Rathore said, can best be understood as micro watershed units. 

Geography has played an important role in these micro-historical feats in Udaipur and the region of Mewar. Udaipur basin is located on the ‘great India water divide line’ at the confluence of four rivers, i.e., Ahar, Morwani, Amarjok and Kotra (Sisarma) that flow through the well-defined Girwa region along eastern slopes of south-central Aravallis, one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world. 

Girwa means ‘girdle of hills’ and the Udaipur basin is saucer-shaped in the form of a valley, surrounded by Aravalli hill ranges. “Metamorphic rocks of the region ensure that there is no underground leakage or seepage of water from these lakes,” said Dr Rathore. 

Ahar is the only major river that flows through this region, originating from the hills of Gogunda, flowing for 30 kms and joining Udai Sagar lake in the east.  

The construction of Connaught Dam in 1890 assumes significance when known how highly erratic and uncertain is the rainfall every year. 

“Erratic rainfall is only one of the challenges we face in the 21st century,” said Dr Rathore. “Explosive population growth, encroachment of lake-beds and rapid urbanisation have compounded the problems that a heritage city like Udaipur faces, year after year,” he said. 

Measures to save lakes need to be taken through water conservation techniques and construction of new link channels. In short, lessons from our past have to be learnt, saluting leadvers whose names are linked to water bodies that have sustained cities, lives and livelihoods for centuries.  

Moving to the present, it is heartening to share news of the monsoon bounty of July-August 2019. Rains are making up for the deficit of the last few years. Fateh Sagar, connected with Swaroop Sagar with a link channel and the Ahar river, may soon be overflowing. For residents-tourists to the heritage city, lakes filled to the brim are thrilling sights to remember. 

Rajasthan, though synonymous with the Thar desert, springs this surprise with the ‘city of lakes’ whose micro-history of water resources is as significant and unique as its built architecture. 

Author is researcher-writer, journalist and communications consultant