PLUMBING HISTORY
History of Plumbing in India
Plumbing engineering in Indian subcontinent even 5000 years ago was quite sophisticated and accorded high priority. The Indus Valley Civilization sites in the Indian subcontinent show ample evidence of public water supply and sanitation systems built with ingenious and advanced engineering.
The recently discovered Rakhigarhi excavations revealed world’s first urban sanitation systems where individual homes or groups of homes were supplied water from a well. From a room set aside for bathing, waste water flowed to covered drains over major streets.
Plumbing systems were integral to city life
A typical example is in Lothal in Gujarat, where all houses had own private toilets connected to a covered sewer network built of brickwork using gypsum based mortar. The urban areas of this civilization included public and private baths. Underground sewer drains connected to wider public drains were built with precisely laid bricks and a sophisticated water management system was in place. Some of these sophisticated systems included drainage channels, rainwater harvesting and huge reservoirs/baths, covered sewers etc.
Such emphasis on sanitation continued across centuries through the eras of the Mauryas, Guptas or the Vijayanagara empire. Sanitation has always been integral to India’s cultural foundation.
Mission
- Redefining Plumbing Standards in India
- Striving for an overall improvement of the plumbing profession in India at par with international standards
- Active participation with the global body in the plumbing profession
Objectives
To uplift the dignity of the profession by encouraging members to:
- Adopt correct professional practices
- Adhere to ethical codes of conduct
- Aim for the highest standards of workmanship
- Promote and foster healthy relationships within the fraternity
To promote advancement of plumbing services in the country by:
- Organising seminars, exhibitions, symposiums to educate members of the trade and the general public
- Providing a platform for the dissemination of information and exchange of ideas on matters related to the plumbing profession
- Establishing harmonious means of communication to facilitate better interface between the plumbing community, government/quasi government agencies, statutory bodies, NGOs and private agencies
- Establishing training and education programmes to create plumbing professionals