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A satellite image of ‘Bhim Kund’ or the great Bhoj reservoir. The green area seen was the fill of the dam and Mandideep seen in the picture was an island.

The most significant of the works and vision of Raja Bhoj was his work for water conservation, as early as eleventh century. The great Bhoj clearly understood the importance of water in the survival, settlement and development of human society. Raja Bhoj of India is yet to get the credit of the first visionary in known history for creating the first man made large reservoir. What adds further glory to this story is that he achieved this with rural technology that was totally indigenous and through his excellent understanding of geography. As seen in the satellite image above, the green area is perfectly carved by nature for a reservoir with hills from both sides curving in as natural barriers. The entire green area seen was the spread of the water and Mandideep, now a flourishing industrial area on a hill was an island in this massive water body of 648 square kilometres. The great Bhoj dam lasted more than 400 years upto the fifteenth century. It changed the entire eco system of the central India. Forests and wild life developed and the place became a haven for nature and beauty.

The water harvesting of Raja Bhoj did not stop at Bhojpal. He went on to create the famous and beautiful upper lake in Bhopal. It is a folklore that one Kalia Gond had helped the engineers of Raja Bhoj identify the 365 rivulets of the river originating from the upper lake, that brought water to the river Betwa. It is after Kalia Gond that this river is called Kalia Sot today. A dam on the river was drawn and known as the Kalia Sot dam, and is one of the main sources of water supply to Bhopal city. The free flow of water in Kalia Sot could prove fatal for the upper lake. So, another dam was built at Bhadbhada that allowed water into the Kalia Sot only when the Upper lake would overflow in the monsoons. Such was the engineering brilliance of Raja Bhoj. His vision gave Bhopal its identity of ‘city of lakes’ and is till date the source of employment, water, agriculture, tourism and biodiversity to the human settlement in Bhopal. The reverence of Raja Bhoj is still deep rooted among various tribal communities around Bhopal. His grandson Raja Udayaditya Parmar carried his vision and work forward. A beautiful temple in Ganjbasoda, and several lakes in Vidisha district owe their origin to him. The legend is kept alive by various folklores that still circulate in the tribal and rural areas. According to one such story, Raja Udayaditya had a cobra living in his stomach. One day, while he was half asleep in a forest, he overheard the cobra talking to another cobra living in the forest giving clues about a hidden treasure and about how the King could get rid of him. The clever King quickly took the medication he overheard killing both serpants. He then dug out the treasure with which he constructed dams and temples.

A wall of the Bhoj reservoir near the Bhoj temple that was destroyed by Hoshangshah Ghauri

The one kilometre long wall of the Bhojpal on route to Bhojpur.

The view of Bhojpur temple and the Bhojpur hill from what was once the bed of a deep reservoir.

It was Hoshang Shah Ghauri (1404-1435) who destroyed the main walls of this great reservoir, most probably because the main mission of foreign invaders was to destroy culture, education system, knowledge banks and any evidences of technical excellence made by Indians. It took three years for the water to flow out and thirty years for the area to become inhabitable. Later, more than 300 villages came up in the area and it became one of the most fertile areas in central India, and remains so till date. The forests, ecology and bio diversity were however lost to the fanaticism of Hoshangshah and the damage became irreversible. The only island or ‘Dweep’ became the biggest market or ‘Mandi’ for the bumper crop productions of the area and was hence named ‘Mandideep’. It is a flourishing industrial town today. On the way to Bhojpur, a one kilometre wall still stands as testimony to the technical and architectural brilliance of Raja Bhoj. This wall is used as a bridge connecting two mountains and a road runs over it till date. The destruction of the reservoir majorly impacted human settlements and traditions in the area. It initiated mass migration to and from the area. People came in to settle in the 360 villages that were formed in the bed of the reservoir and agriculture grew multi-fold. Trading in cereals became a new occupation for the people, and Mandideep became the largest market for food grains. However, with the destruction of the forests and wild life, hunting tribes like Pardhis and tribals like Gonds were further pushed on the edge and lost the last hold of their lands to land lords and nawabs.