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Although the tanks have long vanished, the city ofBombay (now Mumbai) once had manywater tanks within its city limits. They were once the only source of water to the city. The only testimony to their existence is the names of the roads in their vicinity, which befuddles many citizens as to the original location to these mystifying relics of the past.[1]
The oldest tank was the Cowasjee Patel Tank built in 1775, which was built by the Parsee Cowasjee Patel.[2] A total of ten tanks were built between the eighteenth and nineteenth century. The tanks were named after philanthropic citizens who donated money to fund the building of these tanks so that the citizens of the city would get a fresh source of drinking water. The tanks were:
Out of the list only the Banganga Tank and the Bandra Tank are still in existence today.
The CP Tank was built by Cowasji Rustamjee Patel in theGirgaon vicinity in 1775. The Framji Cowasji Tank bordered Esplanade was built byFramji Cowasji in 1831. All that remains of the tank is a plaque on a wall opposite Metro Cinema inSouth Mumbai.
The Babula Tank was built nearGrant Medical College and the Mumbadevi Tank was constructed by a pious woman named Putlibai. TheBanganga Tank has been present since ancient times, said to be from the time ofRama, and is fed by a natural spring although it is only a fewdecametres from the seashore. The Bandra Tank was built by a rich Kokni Muslim of Village Navpada, and was in use for watering cattle and washing clothes.
The tanks were mostly constructed in the crowded areas and were prone to pollution. The scarcity of water was acute at that time and was left to the mercy of themonsoon rains. According to theBombay City Gazetteer published in 1909, these tanks were often very low and had to be replenished by sinking new wells.
In 1846, the city faced an acutewater shortage following which Framji Cowasji sank three wells in its gardens to provide water by steam machinery. Later in 1856, the city faced a severedrought, and an edict was set out relocating allcattle toMahim, which was the periphery of the city at that time. Thousands would gather daily around the tank at Esplanade to collect water, while the government brought thousands of water drums from far off distances to empty into wells atBori Bunder,Chinch Bunder, andDongri.
After a regular water supply to the city was established from theVihar andTulsi lakes, the tanks were declared redundant. They soon became a breeding ground formosquitoes and consequently were filled in. The famous Gowalia Tank Maidan is on top of the original tank.
