Optical telegraph tower Sasaram Bihar

 It took me less than a second to publish this. Thanks to the internet. Over time things change and new technology came. But have you ever wondered how did people send quick messages 200 years ago? It was possible through optical telegraphy. If you succeed, you will soon bask in glory, over 14 kilometres in 9 minutes.

                                   

An optical telegraph is a semaphore system using a line of stations, typically towers, for the purpose of conveying textual information by means of visual signals. There are two main types of such systems; the semaphore telegraph which uses pivoted indicator arms and conveys information according to the direction the indicators point, and the shutter telegraph which uses panels that can be rotated to block or pass the light from the sky behind to convey information

The most widely used system was invented in 1792 in France by Claude Chappe and was popular in the late eighteenth to early nineteenth centuries. India too had an optical or visual telegraph line that extended over 400 miles from Calcutta (Kolkata) to Chunar. There are many towers in Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh. You will find them in Bankura, Purulia, hazaribagh, Bokaro and even in Sasaram. There are about 6-7 towers in kaimur range this tower is located near the stone mines Sasaram (Rohtas).

The sad part is that people here have no idea about it. The locals have fascinating stories about these towers. The most common is that they were watchtowers used to alert attacks by Invaders. Over time it is becoming extinct and the government is not paying even a little attention to it.