US Universities Tie Up with IIT Kharagpur for Water Urbanism Project

Three US Ivy League institutes – the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University (Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation) and Harvard University have joined hands with Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur for a water urbanism project at Varanasi. All these institutes will be involved in conducting an interdisciplinary study of hydrology, healthcare and infrastructure of Varanasi.

According to official information from IIT Kharagpur, a 50-member team of research scholars, students and academicians from the three US universities will collaborate with the students of IIT Kharagpur from January 5 to January 14, 2018. As a part of this collaboration, workshops will be organised under the supervision of Varanasi Nigam and various other organisations.

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The geo-hydrological exploratory study of Varanasi is ‘Water Urbanism’. The collaboration between these institutes will play a vital role in providing designed solutions to major grounded initiatives on the Ghats of Ganga River, as well as, allied water systems. The collaboration will also identify the spots of truing and retrofit that is mandatory to recover pedestrianization, improve the greenery of the city and demarcate limited vehicular infill.

The collaboration between US varsities and IIT Kharagpur will play a crucial part in designing integrated urban planning and system in sync with the natural environment of Varanasi. Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and IIT BHU are also involved in the water urbanism project. A frontline team from BGS (British Geological Survey) is also expected to join the project.

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The potential of Varanasi will be explored through the water urbanism project. The project is a part of the multi-focal point of research under SandHI (Science and Heritage Initiative) spearheaded by IIT Kharagpur.