Town Planning of the Indus Valley Civilization

The cities of the Harappan civilization were built on a precise grid pattern (like a chessboard). Streets were laid out in straight lines, cutting each other at right angles. The main streets ran from north to south and east to west, dividing the city into neat rectangular blocks.

Every major Harappan city had two distinct parts:

1. The Citadel (Upper Town): A raised, fortified platform built on a high mound, containing important public buildings like the Great Bath (Mohenjo-daro) and granaries.
2. The Lower Town: The residential area where common people lived.

The drainage system of the Harappan civilization was the most advanced in the ancient world. Every house had its own private bathroom and drainage channel. These individual drains connected to larger covered street drains, and all waste flowed into a main city drain outside the city walls. The drains were made of burnt bricks and had inspection holes for cleaning.

• Houses: Built with standardized burnt bricks (ratio 1:2:4). Most houses had two storeys, private wells, and separate bathing areas.
• The Great Bath (Mohenjo-daro): A large public water tank, likely used for ritual bathing.
• Granaries: Large warehouses to store grain, found at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro.