The National Capital of India is facing severe water crisis, with residents run pillar to post to get themselves a glass of water, and politicians engaged in blame-game with Delhites suffering in silence, the once self-sufficient city-state can look back only in despair.

Delhi in the past also has faced water issues, but nothing like what we are seeing today.

Rulers of Delhi, the seat of power for centuries, constructed a network of baoli, nullah and hauz to provide water to its residents and recharge groundwater. The network of water bodies, interconnected or not, was strategically located. They were built and maintained since the 10th Century.

Not too far from the residents rushing towards the water tanker in Mehrauli, stands a cluster of medieval baolis (stepwells), that once fed the south Delhi neighbourhood, and areas beyond.

Centuries ago, the Rajas, Sultans and Seths built them; the Anangal ki baoli, the Qutab Sahib ki baoli, the Rajon ki baoli and the Gandhak ki baoli.

It's fascinating to imagine if they ever imagined these structures making it to the 21st century. Also humbling is the thought if they imagined the residents of a developed Delhi battling for water.

Although the baolis made it to the 21st Century, the water supply in it did not, leaving the already-arid Delhi parched. It must be hard to imagine that the parched city of Delhi was once home to an elaborate, self-sustaining hydraulic system, of which the baolis were an integral part of.

Baolis, fed by the nullahs, made of the seasonal streams off the Aravalli and embankments called the bundhs, and the large urban tanks (hauz) were once part of the system that made sure the capital city of Delhi was not left dry.

Rulers of the cities, starting with the Tomars and Rajputs, to the Turks and Mughals, made sure their capitals sustained.

Using the topography and natural water bodies, a network of coordinated reservoirs were constructed, using the slopes and crevices of the Aravalli. By the 12th Century, the addition of water bodies had gained momentum.

Read the detailed report of Delhi's history of water conservation https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/india/story/delhi-temparature-summer-alert-hauz-baoli-nullah-once-fed-hydraulic-structures-ancient-medieval-history-2555143-2024-06-19