Restored Bansilalpet stepwell bags award in Dubai

Hyderabad: The successfully restored 17th century stepwell at Bansilalpet won the prestigious Big 5 Construction Impact Award in Dubai on Monday. The stepwell was inaugurated on the same day by Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development K T Rama Rao. The stepwell was awarded for 'sustainable revitalisation of traditional rainwater harvesting' at Big 5 Construction Impact.

The award was announced at Dubai World Trade Centre late on Monday night for architectural firm Kshetra Consultants which carried out the restoration work and the Rain Water Project that executed it.

Following the successful restoration of the stepwells in the city, the State government plans to take up restoration of 10 more stepwells. On Tuesday, Arvind Kumar, special chief secretary, Urban Development, announced that they plan to take up 10 more stepwells for restoration in the next four months. The government completed restoration of the stepwell which was in dilapidated condition and filled with garbage.

It once served drinking water needs of the locality, but later was neglected to turn into a garbage dump. The revived stepwell will prevent inundation and improve the groundwater levels. The Urban Development authorities plan to turn it into a tourist attraction and a cultural centre. After hard work of more than a one year, the stepwell was restored by various departments in partnership with organisations like Rainwater Project, Gandipet Welfare Society and the local community.