The Great Musi Flood was a devastating flood that occurred on 28 September 1908 in
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 ...
on the banks of
Musi river Musi may refer to:
* Musi River (Indonesia)
* Musi River (India), Telangana
* Moosy River, Andhra Pradesh, India
* Musi language, a Malay language spoken in Indonesia
* Angelo Musi (1918–2009), American basketball player
* Agostino de' Musi, real ...
. The city of Hyderabad was the capital of the
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 ...
, ruled by the
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 ...
,
Mir Mahbub Ali Khan
Asaf Jah VI, also known as, Sir Mir Mahboob Ali Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi (17 August 1866 – 29 August 1911) was the 6th Nizam of Hyderabad. He ruled Hyderabad state, one of the Princely states in India between 1869 and 1911.
Early life
Mahboo ...
.
The flood, locally known as ''Thughyani Sitambar'', shattered the life of the people living in Hyderabad, killing 50,000 people It washed away three bridges — the Afzal, Mussallam Jung and
Chaderghat
Chaderghat is considered one of the busiest areas of Hyderabad city and is located on the banks of Musi River (India), Musi River. Chaderghat Bridge was built during the time of the Nizams and connects major suburbs to the main city. The origina ...
— the
Puranapul became the only link between two parts of the city.
Flooding of Hyderabad
The Musi river was the cause of frequent flood devastation of Hyderabad city till early 20th century. It had begun to swell dangerously on 27 September. The first flood warning came at 2 AM when the water flowed over Puranapul bridge. By 6 AM there was a
cloudburst
A cloudburst is an extreme amount of precipitation in a short period of time, sometimes accompanied by hail and thunder, which is capable of creating flood conditions. Cloudbursts can quickly dump large amounts of water, e.g. 25 mm of prec ...
. The flood breached on Tuesday, 28 September 1908: The river rose 60 feet, flowing through the city.
In 36 hours, 17 inches of rainfall was recorded, and the water level at
Afzalgunj
Afzal Gunj is one of the part in Old City, Hyderabad, Telangana, India, close to river Musi. Afzal Gunj is the hub of local transportation due to the presence of Central Bus Station in the region. The bus station provides services to most of p ...
was about high and in other places even higher.
Damage
The worst hit area was Kolsawadi and Ghansi Bazar in
Afzal Gunj
Afzal Gunj is one of the part in Old City, Hyderabad, Telangana, India, close to river Musi. Afzal Gunj is the hub of local transportation due to the presence of Central Bus Station in the region. The bus station provides services to most of p ...
. The flood razed over 80,000 houses, making a fourth of the population homeless. It completely destroyed the Nizam Hospital, burying the patients. It washed away the Afzal, Mussallam Jung and Chaderghat bridges, all built in the 1860s.
A 200-year-old
tamarind tree
Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabaceae.
...
inside
Osmania Hospital
Osmania General Hospital (OGH) is one of the oldest hospitals in India located at Afzal Gunj, Hyderabad and is named after its founder – Mir Osman Ali Khan, the last Nizam of Hyderabad. It is run by the Government of Telangana, and is one o ...
saved over 150 people who climbed it. Popular Urdu poet
Amjad Hyderabadi
Amjad Hussain ( ur, سيد امجد حسين; 1888–1961), better known by the pen-name Amjad Hyderabadi (), was an Urdu and Persian Ruba'i poet from Hyderabad, India. In Urdu poetic circles he is also known as ''Hakim-al-Shuara''.
During ...
, 22, saw his entire family, including his mother, wife and daughter washed away in the flood; he was the only survivor in his family. Most of his
Ruba'i, ''Qayamat-e-Soghra'' reflects his depression at the loss.
A couplet muses:
Relief Efforts
A relief fund of 500,000 Rupees was borne by the state, and 1,000,000 more raised by public subscription, with the Nizam and
Kishen Pershad
Maharaja Sir Kishen Pershad Bahadur Yamin us-Sultanat (1864 – 13 May 1940) was an Indian noble who served as Prime Minister of Hyderabad twice.
He was a childhood friend of the Nizam and was a staunch Nizam loyalist throughout his life. In 1 ...
making the largest donations. The government declared an official holiday of ten days for people to deal with their own crises. Ten kitchens were set up in various parts of the city, which were in operation from 29 September to 13 October.
Aftermath
The historic deluge resulted in the development of the twin cities in 1908. This necessitated planned, phased development.
Committee recommendations
Syed Azam Hussaini submitted his report on 1 October 1909, with recommendations on preventing a recurrence of floods and improving civic amenities. The Seventh Nizam,
Mir 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 ...
, constituted a City Improve Trust in 1912. He built a flood control system on the river.
Sir Visvesvaraya’s services
The Nizam invited
M. Visvesvaraya
Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya (15 September 1861 – 12/14 April 1962), also referred to by his initials, MV, was an Indian civil engineer, administrator, and statesman, who served as the 19th Diwan of Mysore from 1912 to 1918.
Visvesvaraya ...
to advise and assist in the reconstruction of the city and to devise measures for the prevention of the recurrence of such a terrible catastrophe. He was assisted by engineers from the Public Works Department of Hyderabad State, and after much investigation and deliberation, they concluded that the immunity of Hyderabad city from flood must come from the construction of flood catchment areas in the basin above the city. They proposed to construct these reservoirs a few miles north of the capital.
A dam was built under noted engineer Nawab
Ali Nawaz Jung Bahadur
Mir Ahmed Ali, Nawab Ali Nawaz Jung Bahadur ( In Urdu - میر احمد علی نواب علی نواز جنگ بہادر ) (born on 11 July 1877) was chief engineer during the rule of Nizam of Hyderabad. He was responsible for major irrigatio ...
in 1920 across the river, upstream from the city, called
Osman Sagar
Osman Sagar is a reservoir in the Indian city of Hyderabad. The lake is around 46 km², and the reservoir 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 damming the M ...
. In 1927, another reservoir was built on Esi (tributary of Musi) and named
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 ...
. These lakes prevent the flooding of the River Musi and are major drinking water sources for Hyderabad city.
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References
Citations
Bibliography
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External links
Remembering the deluge of 1908
{{Hyderabad
Hyderabad State
Floods in India
1908 in India
1908 floods
History of Telangana
History of Hyderabad, India
1908 disasters in India