Hyderabad by Walk - Osman Sagar

 Deccan Archives announced a Osman Sagar walk and since I was at Charminar at 645, I decided to catch the walk which was at 830. The walk was from the Lake View Park - entry to the road leading to the park itself cost some 50 bucks. I realised they had done some work to spruce up the place and make it a tourist attraction - the road was in better condition, trees and plants well maintained, some walks on the side and finally as we get near the park a huge structure which I am not sure has a purpose.

The road leading up

The bund - no permission to go

Beyond the structure is the parking area which is basically a flat area made by lopping off the top of the granite hill. It looked very different from how it was some 12-15 years ago when everything was as it must have been during the Nizam's time. Anyway I found Wahaj at the gate and we started chatting about this and that. Soon some people joined up - Ajay (from the last walk), Chandrika (a budding novelist) and others.

The bund, a park - all forbidden

Steps leading up to the viewpoint

View from the viewpoint - the point of having the viewpoint

Wahaj had got permission to walk along the bund but it was cancelled at the last minute apparently citing safety reasons since the reservoir was full. So our scope was rather limited and Wahaj did the best he could. He explained that Osman Sagar lake and reservoir are fed by the Musi river which originates in Vikarabad. Before 1921 when the reservoir and dam were not made, there were frequent floods, the deadliest of them being the one in 1908 which claimed thousands of lives. The then Nizam sought the services of Sir M. Visweswariah to solve the problem of flooding in monsoon and lack of drinking water in summer. Sir Visweswariah who advocated the creation of the lake and reservoir to act as a check for floods. The lake and reservoir were constructed between 1912-1921 and since then have been successful in containing the Musi. The dam apparently has an earthen bund at the bottom, then stone masonry. 

Another view - a pointed one

Parties galore - broken bottles and such

Wahaj pointed out the villas and other constructions on the downside of the dam and how norms were being flouted all around the lake. He also pointed out that there were many places of interest all around the lake if one had the inclination to explore - mosques, palaces, temples and such. 

Beyond the temple - to its right, one can see the Musi winding it way down

The white mosque is of Qutb Shahi time - the buildings are not

In the foreground - Jewel of Nizam  

The lake and reservoir were named after the seventh Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, who was instrumental in its construction. There is a royal guest house by name Sagar Mahal which the royals used and which now we can use - its a resort let out by the Tourism department. 

Some boulders

Park entry - this seemed pointless

Park

Another view

In 1921 the construction of another lake a reservoir parallel to Osman Sagar called Himayat Sagar was begun. It was completed in 1927 and was named after Mir Osman Ali Khan's son Himayat. This was built across the river Esa which is a tributary of Musi. Wahaj mentioned that there was a linking canal between these two lakes which now seems to have been encroached.

Looking out from the parking area we could see the earthen bund, the encroachments, the river Musi flowing downstream, the crazy construction to the left, a Qutb Shahi mosque for the workers. Wahaj also mentioned that there was an aqueduct kind of structure which leads up to the bund which is actually a mini railway line to transport stones and material to the site.

More views of the lake

We walked down to the park which is now modernised so much that the old charm is completely lost. However we just walked and saw the scale which measures how full the lake is. Two other people joined us towards the end and decided to join up next Sunday.

Quite enlightening. It does add up to one more piece of the jigsaw for me. Wahaj also gave me the general idea of how to do the food walk from Nampally. Loved it.