The Indus Valley cities Mohenjo-daro and Harappa are best known for which urban features?

• A. Grand palaces and ceremonial avenues
• B. Circular irrigation systems and mud-brick housing
• C. Grid-pattern streets and advanced drainage systems
• D. Lighthouse towers and harbors

Answer: (C)

Indus Valley cities are famous for their careful urban planning and sanitation. Mohenjo-daro and Harappa show grid-pattern streets that organize the city into regular blocks, making navigation, construction, and administration more efficient. Alongside the streets runs an advanced drainage system: brick-lined drains and channels that carry wastewater away from homes and public spaces, sometimes with manhole access, reflecting a strong emphasis on public health and civic infrastructure.

This combination—orderly street layouts paired with sophisticated drainage—is distinctive of these cities and sets them apart more than grand palaces, ceremonial avenues, or coastal towers. While mud-brick housing is common and irrigation supported agriculture, circular irrigation systems aren’t a defining hallmark, and Mohenjo-daro and Harappa aren’t known for lighthouse-like harbors. So the grid and drainage features best capture what these sites are most famous for.