Chaali Khooh: Documenting Amritsar’s urban transformation

Once the sole source of water for the city of Amritsar, Chaali Khooh, meaning “40 wells”, today stands as a silent witness to the city’s transformation over the past century. Built during the British era, this engineering marvel supplied water to Amritsar for nearly six decades, marking the first large-scale use of modern technology for public water supply in Punjab. Today, it has been reimagined as Miyawaki jungle in which 20,000 saplings of 45 indigenous and foreign species have been planted.

In the early 20th century, the Amritsar municipality received an advance loan from the Central Government, in the year 1902 to be precise, to initiate the city’s waterworks. Historian Anand Gauba, in her book, ‘Amritsar: A Study in Urban History’, notes that this project was a significant milestone for the city, as it introduced piped water for the first time. The Chaali Khooh system became operational in 1904. But initially, the water pressure was too low and the supplies too scanty to meet the needs of even half of the city’s population. Continuous efforts were made to enhance its efficiency, and by 1918-19, tube-wells were added to increase the water extraction capacity.

At the heart of this system was a 125-horsepower diesel engine, which operated a sophisticated mechanism to draw high-pressure groundwater and distribute it across the city. For decades, this system served as the only water lifeline for Amritsar. However, with the advent of newer technologies post-Independence, especially by the 1980s, Chaali Khooh lost its functional significance and eventually fell into disuse.

Recognising its historical and technological importance, the government included Chaali Khooh under the Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY), a national initiative aimed at preserving and revitalising heritage structures in urban areas. Under this project, all the original wells were dismantled, and the land was transformed into a 44-acre heritage park, which is now being transferred to Miyawaki jungle. Though the redevelopment of Chaali Khooh was a significant achievement, even after the investment of crores of rupees, the project remains inaccessible to the general public. Although the renovation work at the main building has been completed five years ago, because of the lack of a clear government policy on maintenance and public, it failed to attract tourists

“The story of Chaali Khooh is more than just a tale of bricks, diesel engines and water pipelines. It is a reflection of Amritsar’s journey from colonial infrastructure to modern-day heritage consciousness. It should be open for public and promoted as tourist site,” said Kuljit Singh Malanwali, president, Maharaja Ranjit Singh Virasat Manch.

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Amritsar