(1) Town planning: Town planning was a unique feature of Indus civilization. Their town planning proves that they lived a highly civilized, urban and developed life. The cities were excellently planned and efficiently constructed. Indus cities were built according to a standard and uniform plan with well laid streets, construction of houses, drainage systems, Great Bath, granary and other features which is quite amazing in nature.
(2) Streets: The streets were broad, running from east to west and north to south. The roads crossed each other at right angles. The main streets were 13 to 34.feet wide. The streets and roads divided the city into rectangular blocks. Street lights and dustbins were also provided on the streets. An elaborate drainage system was maintained.
(3) Buildings: People of Indus, built houses and other buildings by the side of roads. They built terraced houses and used burnt bricks made of mud and mortar as building materials. In each house, there were the open courtyard, rooms around it, a kitchen and a bathroom. Every house had two or more storeys. The entrances to the houses were usually in side alleys, and most of the houses had a well. The bathroom was constructed nearest to the street, so that the waste water drain was directly connected to the main drainage through clay pipes. Water supply was excellent. They also built a dockyard at Lothal.
(4) Drainage system: One of the most remarkable features of this civilization was an excellent closed drainage system. Each house had its own soak pit, which was connected to the public drainage. The drainage channels were 9 inches wide to 12 inches deep, The drains were laid well below the street level. The drains were all covered with slabs and had manholes at regular intervals for cleaning and clearing purposes. Thus, Indus, people had perfected the underground drainage system.
(5) The Great Bath (Public bath): The public bath is the most remarkable well to be found at Mohanjodharo. It consists of a large quadrangle. The actual bathing pool measured 39 x 33 feet with a depth of 8 ft. It was surrounded by verandahs with rooms and galleries behind them. On all sides of the pool there were steps. Provisions were made to drain off the dirty water from the pool regularly and fresh water was brought in. It speaks volumes about the technical skill, perfection, sense of sanitation and hygiene possessed by the Indus people.
(6) The Granary (Warehouse): The most remarkable and the largest building at I Iarappa is the great granary. It measures 169 x 135 ft. The one in Mohanjodharo is 150 x 75 feet. Revenue was probably collected in kind and the granary was used to store the grains collected.
(7) Dockyard: Dr. S.R Rao discovered the Lothal dockyard at Cambay in Gujarat. It is a noteworthy structure, which could accommodate several ships at a time. It shows that Indus people earned on external trade through ships. It gives us a good idea of the engineering skill of them.
Conclusion: The whole city was well maintained by the municipal authorities by supplying water, constructing public wells, providing street lights, dustbins and maintaining an excellent drainage system. But there is no information regarding the political organization or nature of Government.
