Patna Plans to Turn Its 108-Year-Old Water Tower into a Tourist Attraction

The Bihar government plans to restore the historic water tower near Miller High School on Veer Chand Patel Path, Patna, and develop it as a tourist attraction. Urban Development and Housing Minister Nitish Mishra announced the initiative. Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary laid the project’s foundation stone on 28 October 2026.

Restoration and historic water system

Built between 1915 and 1918, the approximately 130-foot tower had a capacity of about 100,000 gallons and no longer supplies water. The Patna Municipal Corporation has invited tenders for works estimated at Rs 3.38 crore. The plan includes restoration and beautification of the complex, covering about 14,400 square feet, and a modern cafeteria of approximately 2,500 square feet.

Historian Ravishankar Upadhyay has described the tower’s role in Patna’s historic water supply. A steam engine pumped water from a borehole near AN College to the elevated tank. When the tank filled, a red-light signal prompted the engine to stop. The tower was built during Patna’s development as the capital after Bihar and Odisha became a separate province in 1912.

Important Facts for Exams

• Gravity pressure: An elevated tank can maintain water distribution during power cuts through gravity-driven pressure, but pumping remains necessary to replenish its stored water.
• Demand balancing: Water towers buffer peak demand: tank levels fall during busy hours and pumps commonly refill them overnight when usage is lower.
• Development of pressurised systems: Modern water towers for pressurised public supplies developed alongside steam pumping and stronger pipes capable of handling higher pressures.