Mehrauli residents feel the Shamsi Talab at the Hauz-i-Shamsi is losing its heritage value because people throw garbage and direct sewage water into the reservoir.
Some residents have written to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) about it. But they allege that the ASI and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi have just been playing blame games for over 10 years, and doing nothing to restore the pond.
“This pond came into existence about 1,000 years ago,” said Kapil, a Mehrauli resident whose ancestors have been staying in the area for over 100 years.
“Whenever we have tried to raise concerns over maintaining its heritage value by getting it cleaned, municipal corporation officials say they cannot do anything as it is maintained by the ASI. But the ASI says it is not responsible for cleaning the pond,” he said.
The history
Behind the Shamshi pond are the Giant Wheels which are part of the annual Phool Walon Ki Sair festival.
The pond was built in 1230 AD by Sultan Shamshudin Iltumish as a reservoir to harvest rainwater.
Kapil shared that as a child he used to visit the pond in the evenings when women could be seen washing clothes and even bathing.
“Till some years ago, women who faced water crisis at home used to fetch water from the pond. Earlier, there were only farmers living in this area who bred cattle using water from here. Now this pond has turned into a dumping ground,” he said.
However, owing to the influx of people in the area from other places like Bihar and South India due to availability of decently priced flats, the connection between the environment and residents seems to have vanished.
This has also aggravated water problems in Mehrauli.
No water
“Our tap runs dry for almost 18 days as the Jal Board water comes only once in two weeks. We are dependent on water tankers which charge anywhere between Rs 1,000 and 1,200 every time we call for one. I wake up every morning at 4 am and wait till 6 am hoping for water to come,” said Tara Devi, a resident of Mehrauli ward number 6.
Trilok Chaudhary, founder of the Save the Village movement, who has been fighting for the cause for over 10 years said they have met chief minister Sheila Dikshit several times on this issue.
“She had even deputed an officer to look into this issue but we have never seen him. Since the ASI has not acted on our complaints we have decided to write to the Prime Minister to intervene,” he said.
Residents have also agreed to clean the area themselves to ensure that the water body does not die as the baolis or stepwells did in Mehrauli.
“Residents of Mehrauli village have decided to clean the area if none of the agencies act on our complaints, provided the corporation and ASI do not create issues because the area has been barricaded and nobody is allowed to enter the premises,” added Chaudhary.