Here is everything you need to know about India's biggest artificial reservoir, Mallanna Sagar

Hyderabad: On February 23, Wednesday Chief Minister of Telangana K Chandrasekhar Rao inaugurated the country's biggest artificial reservoir, Mallanna Sagar, a part of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation System (KLIS) project, on the Tukkappur Surge Pool between Thogutta and Kondapak mandals.

Hailed as the mother of reservoirs, Mallanna Sagar spans across a length of 22.6 kms, width of 8 metres, and a height of 59.98 metres, and has a storage capacity of 50 tmc ft (thousand million cubic feet). The trial run for filling Mallanna Sagar began in August 2021, and the reservoir was successfully filled with 10.50 tmc ft of water. It will be the second biggest storage reservoir in Godavari basin after Sriramsagar reservoir.

Geographically, Mallanna Sagar is located at a higher elevation and at a ridge point that separates Godavari and Krishna basins. Around 62% of Kaleshwaram ayacut falls within the limits of Mallanna Sagar reservoir apart from the drinking water needs of Hyderabad and stabilization of ayacut under Nizamsagar, Singur and Vanadurga projects. An ayacut is an area served by a canal, dam, or tank.

Executed at a cost of Rs.7,041.32 crores, the reservoir is expected to be useful to irrigate 11.29 lakh acres of land. The project is expected to help farmers of Medak, Nalgonda, and Nizamabad, and also will potentially quench the thirst of the people of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. Besides irrigation and drinking water needs, the water from the reservoir will also be used for industrial needs across the state.

As Mallanna Sagar is at a higher elevation having a Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of 557 m, water from this source will flow on all sides. Water is supplied toBaswapur reservoir (11.39 tmc ft), and the Gandamalla reservoir (9.87 tmc ft) by gravity in Yadadri Bhongir for an ayacut of 2.5 lakh acres. Water will be supplied to Kondapochamma Sagar (15 tmc ft) reservoir through two-stage lifts that are at heights of 618 m above Mean Sea Level (MSL). From there, water will be supplied to ayacut of about 2.85 lakh acres in Medchal, Sangareddy, Medak, and Siddipet, and will provide drinking water to Hyderabad. Water will be supplied from Mallanna Sagar to Nizamsagar through Haldivagu for the stabilization of Nizamsagar ayacut.

With the completion of the Mallanna Sagar reservoir, all the reservoirs of the main trunk of the Kaleshwaram project have been completed.

There were many issues regarding the project, even at the High Court of Telangana. Many of the families who lost their lands due to the project approached the High Court, challenging the state's alleged coercion in acquiring lands. Based on various petitions from oustees of the Mallanna Sagar project, the High Court in 2021 directed the state government to treat them as separate families and pay compensation to them in full.

Photo credits: Pradeep Macharla