Town Planning of Harappa

Town Planning of Harappa

The Main Features of the Indus Valley Civilization
Urban Organization-Town planning

The Indus Valley people (or the Harappan people) were primarily urban people. They lived in well-planned towns and look great care to look after their property. The cities grew up according to a set scheme. The roads and streets were very ride. The width of the streets varied from 3 meters to 4 metres. The roads were 4 metres to 10 metres wide. All the streets and roads ran from north to south and from east to west so that they could be cleaned automatically by the prevailing winds. Building were not allowed to encroach upon the public highways. In fact, Indus Valley people had developed a keen civic sense and they fully obeyed the civic authority.

The Drainage System

The Indus Valley people had a high sense of health and sanitation and they possessed an elaborate drainage system. Each house had its own small drains which were directly connected with the street drain which ran under the main streets and below many lanes.Each house had its own soak-pit and water flowed from the sink into the underground sewers in the streets. They were covered with bricks and stones. There were manholes at regular intervals for inspection. People did not throw ash and other refuse in the drain. All this shows that the drains were constructed on scientific lines and their drainage system was in no way inferior to the underground drainage system of the modern times.

Harappan Civilization

Harappa

It Lies on the bank of the river Ravi at a distance of about 160 kilomitres from Lahore. It was bigger in area than Mohen-jo-Daro and was the capital of the Northern Region. Wells at Harappa are rare as compared to Mohen-jo-Daro. The most remarkable building at Harappa is the great granary if Mohen-jo-Daro can boast of the great public bath.

The remains of the Indus Valley Civilization have also been unearthed at various other places such as Chanhu-Daro, Loham-jo-Daro, Amri, Naal, Rupar, Lothal, Sanghol, Mitathal, Kali Bangan, etc. They reveal  that this civilization was spread over the whole of sind, Punjab, The Valley of N.W.F.P., Rajasthan Kathiawar, Gujarat and the northern part of the gangetic basin.

Its Date

Its is difficult to fix the period of this civilization because the script of the Indus valley people has not been deciphered as yet. Pots, tablets, seals, etc. of the Indus Valley People have been excavated from the ruins of Mesopotamis. Babylonia and Egypt. They have been dated between 3200 to 2750 B.C. So, it is generally believed that this civilization also flourished between 3200 to 2750 B.C. or about 5,000 years ago. At Mohen-jo-Daro, seven layers have been unearthed upto the water level.. if we assign 500 years to each layer, then we can easily say that this civilization flourished in about 3500 B.C. Iron has not been found among the ruins of this civilization, so we come to conclusion that this civilization existed before 2300 B.C.

INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

Indus Valley Civilisation

Historian generally the study of the Indian history with the Aryans. In 1922 Mr. D.R. Bannerjee started burrow at Mohen-jo-Daro in the Larkana District of sind and he discovered ancient remains there. About the same time, Mr. R.B. Daya Ram Sahni carried on burrow at Harappa in the Montgomery District of Punjab. after all the distance between the two places is about 640 kilometres, yet the archaeological finds determined  at both these places are quite similar. The battered of these two old cities have proved that there thrive a highly developed civilization in the Indus Valley about 5,000 years ago. It is known as the Indus valley Civilization because it developed in the valley of the Indus river and its dependent.

Extent nd Chief Sites of this Civilization : Mohen-jo-Daro and Harappa
Mohen-jo-Daro and Harappa were the main displace of this civilization. Mohen-jo-Daro is situated in the larkana district if sind. It was a big city and was the capital of the Southern Region. Mohen-jo-Daro accurately means the "Mound of the Dead". Seven layers of the city have been unearthed. it shows that the city was sacked and reconstructed about seven times. any contingent visitor to the battered at Mohen-jo-Daro is bang by the remarkable skill in the town-planning. artery run straight, sometimes about a kilometre, and they interest at right angles. commonplace a building was allowed to Progress on a public highway. Secondly one is bang by the remarkable skill of the people of Mohen-jo-Daro in cleanliness.  The city had an careful drainage system consisting of street and house drains and absorb-pits.