A centuries-old pond where Mughal emperor Jahandar Shah, son of Bahadur Shah, camped during a battle for the throne in 1712 could hold clues to an opportunity for water conservation in Delhi, with the MCD planning its restoration for rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge.
The Kishan Das Talab, located along the historic Delhi-Agra route, is believed to have occupied a low-lying stretch behind the campus of the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), and extending towards the Okhla Waste-to-Energy plant, according to a research paper by Dr Aqil Ahmed, member secretary of the MCD Heritage Cell.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) plans to approach three government agencies -- the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), CRRI and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), which owns land in the area, -- to share its survey findings on the lost water body and urge them to consider the possibility of restoring it.
The proposal comes amid mounting pressure on Delhi's groundwater resources. While restoring the pond alone would not resolve the city's water crisis, a scientifically designed revival could help retain rainwater and recharge groundwater, depending on the site's hydrology and the quality of the water entering it, officials said.
The pond's historical trail dates back at least 314 years. On December 9, 1712, Jahandar Shah, embroiled in a struggle for the Mughal throne, left Delhi and camped at Talab Kishan Das near Khizrabad, about 11 km south of the city, according to the research.
"The location was more than a convenient patch of open land. A large imperial camp needed water, fodder, space for troops and animals, and access to a major road. The pond's position outside the congested city, but close enough to reach it, made the surrounding landscape suitable for such an encampment," Ahmed told PTI.
Nearly three decades later, the water body featured in accounts of another major military episode. During Persian ruler Nadir Shah's invasion of Delhi in 1739, the pond was cited as a geographical marker beyond which a military patrol did not extend.
In the following years, it continued to feature in accounts of military movements around the capital. By the 19th century, it was sufficiently well known to appear as "Kissen Dass ka Talao" in an 1842 road itinerary listing stages along the Delhi-Agra route.
Ahmed's research draws on historical accounts, old maps and present-day ground elevations to narrow down the possible location.
An 1807 map titled 'Sketch of the Environs of Delhi', a map of villages in the Delhi territory from 1828-29, and a 1914 map of Delhi and its surroundings help reconstruct the landscape around Khizrabad, Okhla, Kilokri and the old southern road.
Ground elevations provide another clue. The research records an elevation of about 240 metres on Mathura Road opposite CRRI, compared with around 226 metres behind the CRRI building and 225 metres near the rear of Okhla Tank. Khizrabad lies at approximately 231 metres.
"The difference of about 15 metres between the higher stretch of Mathura Road and the lowest point near Okhla Tank suggests a natural depression towards which rainwater from surrounding higher ground could have flowed before roads, buildings and drainage systems altered the landscape," Ahmed said.
The area behind CRRI and around Okhla Tank is therefore a "priority area" for further investigation, he added. The presence of marshy land and plantations could also warrant an ecological assessment. However, vegetation or waterlogged ground alone cannot establish that the historical pond survives beneath the surface.
The MCD's proposal would first require the agencies concerned to establish the water body's footprint and determine whether any part of its original basin remains. The research recommends comparing historical maps with revenue records, village maps, old drainage plans and earlier aerial imagery, followed by field surveys to identify any surviving depression, embankment or other physical traces.
"If the original basin or a recoverable part of it is identified, restoration could involve clearing accumulated debris, recovering the natural contours of the depression and creating a system to collect and retain rainwater," Ahmed explained.
The research comes against the backdrop of a wider effort to trace and revive Delhi's lost water bodies. In April 2024, the Delhi High Court, while hearing a case on waterlogging, drainage and water conservation, noted that several of the city's listed water bodies no longer existed on the ground.
The court was informed that Delhi had 1,367 water bodies, including 322 identified through satellite imagery, but ground verification had been completed for only 344 at the time.
Before modern water-supply and drainage networks transformed Delhi, tanks and ponds stored seasonal rainwater and supported settlements, travellers and military movements.
Many have disappeared from public memory even though their former basins may still offer clues to how water once moved through the landscape.
The MCD heritage cell's research could provide a starting point for establishing whether the lost pond's footprint survives and whether restoration is feasible.
For a water-stressed city, recovering such a historic water body could mean more than restoring an old name to the map: it could help identify a place where rainwater might once again be conserved.