Tanks

Mumbai at one point of time had many tanks within the city which were a major source of water for drinking and other purposes for the inhabitants. Some of them were Dhobi Talao, Bhuleshwar, Cowasji Patel Tank, Khara Talao, Two Tanks, Gowalia Tank, Babula Tank, Parel Tank, Mumba Devi Tank, Mazgaon Tank, Bandra Tank, Banganga. With passage of time, most of these tanks were filled up and presently only Bandra and Banganga remain intact. The oldest tank was the Cowasjee Patel Tank built in 1775. A total of ten tanks were built between the 18th and 19th 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 mostly constructed in the congested areas and their waters were prone to pollution and contamination. The scarcity of water was acutely felt in Bombay in those days and it was left to the mercy of the monsoon rains from July to September each year to bring relief to the citizens. According to the Bombay City Gazetteer published in 1909, the water-level in these tanks were often very low and had to be replenished by sinking new wells all over Bombay. In 1846, the city faced an acute water shortage following which Framji Cowasji sank three wells in its gardens to provide water by steam machinery. Later in 1856, the city once again faced a severe drought, and an edict was set out relocating all city cattle to the suburb of Mahim, which was the periphery of the city at that time. Thousands would gather daily around the tank at the Esplanade to collect water, while the government brought water in drums from far off distances to empty into wells at Bori Bunder, Chinch Bunder and Dongri areas. After regular piped water supply was established to the city thanks to the Vihar and Tulsi lakes around 1860, the tanks were declared redundant and soon became a breeding ground for mosquito and consequently were filled in.

The Municipality,from 1866 onwards; towards the provision of new land, started filling up old tanks and quarries. Among these were a tank at Upper Colaba near Pilot Bandar, filled in 1866, four Foras tanks near the DeLisle and Arthur roads were filled in 1884, the Sankli tank at Haines road got filled in 1893, the Gilder street tank was filled in 1905, and the Matharpakhadi tank, Babula tank, Khara tank, Naigaum tank and Nanglia tank filled in 1907.

For Further Reading:

Gazetteer of Bombay Town and Island, 1909