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Bansilalpet Stepwell
Also known as: Bansilalpet Baoli
A large rectangular step-well cleared of decades of rubbish and restored in 2022 as a public space and performance venue, a model for the city's other buried baolis.
History & Story
Step-wells (baolis) were once essential infrastructure across Hyderabad, cool gathering places and water reserves that sustained neighbourhoods before modern plumbing. Most were filled in as the city modernised, their very existence forgotten. The Bansilalpet baoli was buried under rubbish for decades until a community effort cleared it in 2022, revealing its full depth and original stone steps. Its reopening as a cultural performance space inspired a wider movement to find and restore Hyderabad's other lost baolis.
Key Events
1920
Step-well in active use as neighbourhood water supply
1960
Filled in as neighbourhood developed; existence forgotten
2022
Community excavation reveals full structure; restored as public space
Location & Getting There
Area / Locality: Bansilalpet
Coordinates: 17.43060° N, 78.49320° E
Access: public