Unlocking urban resilience starts with reactivating the oldest and most overlooked layer of infrastructure: our natural water systems. When rainwater has nowhere to go, when its ancient paths are choked, paved over, or forgotten, floods streets, overwhelms sewers, and transforms a monsoon into a disaster. And few cities make that point as clearly as Ayodhya, where a bold, locally rooted approach is helping reimagine spiritual tourism as an engine for ecological regeneration.

Reconnecting our cities to their buried streams, swales, and ponds is not romantic nostalgia; it’s rational infrastructure. It’s groundwater security. It’s climate adaptation.

From Pilgrim Trail to Water Trail: The Ayodhya Vision 2047

Under the Ayodhya Vision 2047, the city undertook two interlinked strategies:

1. Curated Cultural Trails

Rather than viewing temples, tanks, and craft guilds as isolated points, planners stitched them into narrative circuits. The Parkirama Marg (Pilgrims’ Path) links historic kunds, temples, heritage sites, and ashrams. The Artisans’ Trail showcases workshops of temple builders. These routes don’t just guide tourists—they encourage local discovery, support small enterprises, and activate lesser-known heritage.

2. Ecological Resource Activation

Many heritage nodes sit beside natural drains or kunds (temple tanks). Instead of hiding these behind gates or walls, the city has reimagined them as ecological anchors:

• Restored kunds are now community spaces.
• Interpretive signs tell stories of mythology, aquifer recharge, and biodiversity.
• Cultural programming—like tank festivals—makes water conservation celebratory.

The result? Heritage meets hydrology.

Mapping What Was Lost: A Data-Led Foundation

Ayodhya’s water history had scattered records buried in different departments. So, ADA began with a GIS-based hydrological survey across 873 km². They layered historical flow maps, satellite contours, and revenue records to create a city-wide inventory. From 200+ blue assets, 108 kunds were shortlisted for conservation based on:

• Cultural importance
• Recharge potential
• Encroachment status

This wasn’t just data work, it was memory work, stitching past and future.

What They Found: Sludge, Plastics & Encroachment

At most sites, degradation was stark:

• 15–20 ft of sludge buildup
• Encroachments (including religious structures) at banks
• Contaminated inflows from sewage

Take Laal Diggi, now reborn as Sandhya Sarovar. It had shrunk to 5 acres from its original 11. Before revival, records had to be corrected, waste diverted, and temple-area restrictions navigated without heavy machines.

One of the biggest challenges was determining how to revive these waterbodies without​ relying on heavy civil construction. While mapping each pond’s original extent and clearing encroachments addressed one side of the problem, the primary goal, given that the National​ Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) was funding the work was to implement a natural, low-impact rejuvenation method. At the same time, it was essential to engage local residents​ and contractors, both to build their understanding of why rehabilitation mattered and to​ ensure long-term stewardship.

To meet these objectives, a specialist in Natural Ecological Sewage Treatment was brought​ on board. This expert​ designed a system that diverts sewage flows through a series of earthen​ bunds, bamboo‐framed inlet chambers, and sequential sedimentation lagoons—avoiding​ large-scale masonry or concrete works while still treating effluent effectively. 

Parallel to this technical intervention, a comprehensive sensitization campaign was launched,
public‐awareness workshops explained the science behind groundwater recharge and flood
mitigation, and targeted capacity‐building sessions helped traditional civil contractors
master these nature‐based techniques.

By combining expert guidance with community and contractor training, the project ensured that each waterbody could be rejuvenated organically, without heavy machinery, while fostering civic pride and long‐term
maintenance.

The Intervention: Low-Cost, Nature-Based, Community-Led

Instead of opting for capital-heavy STPs, Ayodhya adopted a Natural Ecological Sewage Treatment approach:

1. Flow Segregation – Rooftop rainwater and sewage are diverted via bunds and earth canals
2. Bamboo Filters – Local, low-tech systems trap debris
3. Lagoons for Clarification – Gravity-fed shallow basins allow microbial treatment
4. Floating Wetlands – Introduced native plants improve water quality and biodiversity

This low-carbon system is budget-friendly, heritage-compatible, and replicable.

Community First: “Friends of the Tank” as Stewards

Restoration isn’t just about engineering—it’s about ownership. Ayodhya mobilised:

• Neighbourhood volunteers
• Temple committees
• Youth clubs

Together, they formed Friends of the Tank groups. Monthly cleanups, mural painting, storytelling walks, and flora restoration are now citizen rituals, not just civil works.

Impact So Far

Early results are promising:
✅ Flood Reduction: Monsoon flooding dropped by over 60% at pilot sites
✅ Groundwater Rise: +25 cm average increase near Samda Lake and Surya Kund
✅ Biodiversity Spike: +40% local biodiversity index (at Samda Lake)
✅ Cultural Footfall: Ritual-day attendance at Sandhya Sarovar up by 50%

What’s Next: Scale, Resilience, and Learning

The Ayodhya project is far from over. More budget has been allocated and set aside for the next phase of rejuvenation. This will fund the construction of new pumping stations, the retrofitting of existing drains, and the introduction of land-use incentives to protect and enhance the buffer zones around these waterbodies.

Furthermore, the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) developed an Urban Water Management Plan that incorporates urban heat island data, green infrastructure targets, and community-driven monitoring tools. This layered approach aims to ensure that Ayodhya’s blue-green network not only survives but thrives, adapting to climate variability while delivering long-term ecological and economic benefits.

By scaling natural systems with policy vision and civic collaboration, Ayodhya’s waterbodies are being restored as living infrastructure not just for tourists, but for the generations who will call this city home.

Join the conversation: Have you implemented similar blue-infrastructure or sponge-city solutions? What challenges and lessons emerged in your context? Please share your insights below so we can continue advancing water-wise, resilient cities together.