Pune To Be Home To World's Largest Stepwell Being Built In India After 500 Years

Mumbai: Just on the next evening of World Environment Day, Pune will witness a historic event as foundation stone will be laid for constructing the world’s largest stepwell. The step-well being built in India’s first sustainable township will also be the first such water conservation effort in the last 500 years.

While people specially visit the stepwells of Gujarat and Rajasthan to get a first hand experience of ancient water conservation technique and architectural beauty, Pune will soon have its own step-well and that too the largest in the whole world. Sandeep Sonigra, a renowned builder known for his eco-friendly projects including India’s first five-star rated green project, will be building the world’s largest stepwell in the EvoGreen City, being built in Pune’s Dehu.

EvoGreen City will be the country’s first sustainable township which will be built in approximately 45 acres of land in Dehu. With around 70 acres of adjacent forest and one kilometre of Indrayani river flowing alongside, the township will completely depend on renewable energy and harvested water implemented by two German universities.

With a volume of 90 thousand cubic mtr, this stepwell will be four times bigger than Abhaneri stepwell of Rajasthan, which has a volume of 24 thousand cubic mtr. By preserving every drop of rainwater, this stepwell will not only fulfil the water needs of 15 thousand residents of the township, but will also benefit the entire Dehu village by increasing the ground water level.

Sandeep Sonigra, the brain behind India’s first sustainable township, said, “Since the stepwell will be a slanting stepwell, it will actually turn out to be around seven times of Abhaneri. Stepwell is our ancestral gift, which provided sufficient water even in drought prone areas of Rajasthan. In cities like Pune, people waste a lot of water and we aim to preserve it like a precious commodity.”

The foundation stone for the first phase of the stepwell’s construction will be laid on Thursday. Entirely made with stones, the stepwell will be 10 mtr deep in the first phase and inaugurated on the World Environment Day next year. In the second phase, the stepwell will go 20 mtr deep, which will take another three years to be completed. With most of the stepwells in Rajasthan being around 900 years old, this stepwell in Pune will be the newest stepwell built in the country after Telangana’s step well built 500 years back.

The EvoGreen township has been aiming for carbon positive footprints with the usage of resources during and post construction. Apart from using eco friendly materials for construction, the post-construction aspects will include complete use of renewable energy and water from the step well which will fulfil the needs of all the residents.

“We have executed projects completely based on renewable energy but this is for the first time that our project will also be self-dependent for water. The self-sufficiency will not be limited to the residents of our township, but will also benefit the village by increasing groundwater. This humongous project will also be a marvel in terms of architecture, which should remain as a legacy,” said Sonigra.