The Dying Water Heritage of Sarkhej Roza

Abstract

Sarkhej Roza, a fifteenth century complex comprising of the mausoleum, mosque and cascade of natural and man-made lakes, and located in peri-urban Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, is presently a heritage site of national importance under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Originally, the Sarkhej lake was excavated to serve the religious purpose of ablution, recreation and climate conditioning that were quite functional until the late twentieth century before rapid urbanization in the catchment of its adjacent interconnected feeder Makarba lake took place. Unfettered development in the past two decades has encroached the common catchment of Makarba–Sarkhej lake cascade by almost 50 per cent. The then perennial sacred Sarkhej lake is now a drying sewage disposal site. Sarkhej Roza has received considerable attention for conserving built heritage aesthetically in the past. Since it is the duty of all stakeholders including ASI, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, Sarkhej Roza Committee, civil society and communities to work in harmony towards sustaining their natural heritage, this research has undertaken detailed site and stakeholder assessment to understand challenges faced by the lake and its precincts, and derived learnings from the stakeholder’s perspectives on the impact of urbanization on this water heritage. This was done in order to chart out the possibilities of reviving the Markarba–Sarkhej lake cascade before it is too late.