Osman Sagar is a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

in the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n city of

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

. The lake is around 46 km², and the

is around 29 km², with total level of 1,790 feet and a capacity of 3.9 tmc ft.

History

Osman Sagar was created by

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

ming the Musi River in 1920, to provide an additional source of drinking water for Hyderabad and to protect the city after the

Great Musi Flood of 1908 The Great Musi Flood was a devastating flood that occurred on 28 September 1908 in Hyderabad on the banks of Musi river. The city of Hyderabad was the capital of the Hyderabad State, ruled by the Nizam, Mir Mahbub Ali Khan. The flood, locally k ...

. It was constructed during the reign of the last

Nizam The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

Hyderabad State Hyderabad State () was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and t ...

Osman Ali Khan Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII (5 or 6 April 1886 — 24 February 1967), was the last Nizam (ruler) of the Princely State of Hyderabad, the largest princely state in British India. He ascended the throne on 29 August 1911, at the age of ...

, hence the name. A princely guest house called Sagar Mahal, overlooking the lake and now a heritage building, was built as a summer resort of the last Nizam. Its location on the banks of the lake offers wonderful views. Telangana Tourism Departmen

operates a resort in the building. The breeze of the lake is very pleasant and has been popular with the locals since the Nizam's time. When Nizam consulted Sri Sir M.Visheswaraya regarding the twin problems of heavy floods in monsoon and acute shortage of water during summer, the latter designed a plan for construction of

which needs high engineering skills in those days. This simple yet elegant solution solved both the problems for Hyderabad.

Tourist spot

It is a popular tourist destination, especially in Wet season, monsoon season when the reservoir is full. Its parks, resorts, and amusement park are a major attraction. This lake had served drinking water to Hyderabad city but, due to increase in population, is not sufficient to meet the city's water supply demand. Himayat Ali Mirza, great-grandson of Nizam VII has recently joined the “save Osmansagar and Himayatsagar” campaign for saving the twin reservoirs and has also urged the of Telangana CM to scrap the orders of GO 111. Himayat said that now that the government had withdrawn the GO 111, the floods might affect various parts of the city. Scrapping of GO 111 has led to increasing the construction and concretisation activities near the lakes, ultimately resulting in consequent

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

ing.

Water levels

In June 2012, the water level at Osman Sagar was 1769.8 feet. On 1 October 2012, the level was 1771.8 feet, an increase of a mere 2 feet. Similarly, in nearby

Himayat Sagar Himayat Sagar is an artificial lake about from Hyderabad in Telangana, India. It lies parallel to a larger artificial lake Osman Sagar. The storage capacity of the reservoir is 2.9 tmc ft. History The construction of reservoirs on the Esi, a ...

, the water level in June 2012 was 1743.3 feet and on 1 October 2012, it was 1,747.4 feet, an increase of about 4 feet. In October 2011, the water levels at Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar were 1781.9 feet and 1755.9 feet, respectively.

Images of the lake

Image:Gandipet1.jpg Image:Gandipet3.jpg Image:Sunset on osman sagar lake hyderabad.JPG Image:Park, Osman Sagar.JPG File:Osman Sagar lake near Hyderabad.jpg

References

External links

Nature of Osman Sagar

Birds of Hyderabad

Flora of Hyderabad

Butterflies of Hyderabad
{{Hydrography of Telangana Lakes of Hyderabad, India Reservoirs in Telangana