Hyderabad, September 24: If it’s a sunny day, people all over the state are heading to the nearest irrigation project to picnic on the banks of the reservoirs.
A copious monsoon this year has filled up just about every reservoir, lake and pond and painted the environs a lush green.
Armed with brunch hampers and a bedspread, picnickers are spending lazy afternoons in the company of gushing waters.
The Nagarjuna Sagar in Nalgonda district, Lower Manair Dam in Karimnagar, Ramappa Lake in Warangal district, the Singur Project in Medak district and the Prakasam Barrage in Vijayawada are witnessing thousands of day-trippers.
LOUNGING AT THE LMD
The Lower Manair Dam, LMD as it is called locally, reached full reservoir level earlier this month, for the first time this decade. Some 24 tmc ft of water from the Godavari is stored in the reservoir. People have been thronging in large numbers to the reservoir to have a glimpse of the flood waters. Every day nearly 2,000-3,000 people are visiting the dam, slowing down traffic on the Karimangar-Hyderabad highway to a crawl. Educational institutions are conducted excursions to the site. Local photographers are doing brisk business with visitors wanting to take pictures with the reservoir as a backdrop. The rush has been so much this week that police had to be posted to the normally placid site.
LMD: 5 km from Karimnagar
PICNIC AT PAKAL
In Warangal district, the favourite destinations for day-time tourists are the Pakal, Laknavaram and Ramappa lakes. The tourism department has made proper arrangements for tourists here. It operates mechanized boarts at Laknavaram and Ramappa but not at Pakal as there are crocodiles in the lake. There is a suspension bridge at the Laknavaram to reach the mid-lake island.
PAKAL: 65 km from Warangal
RAMAPPA: 62 km from Warangal
LAKNAVARAM: 68 km from Warangal.
SINGING AT SINGUR
The Singur Project is better known for irrigating fields in Medak district and supplying drinking water to Hyderabad. Throughout this decade it had been in the news for drying up or going down to dead storage level in the summer. This year, for the first time in the recent past, it has filled up, presenting a sight for sore eyes. Situated 40 km from the district headquarters of Sangareddy, it is attracting day-trippers from as far as Hyderabad. Seven-seater autos are a making a killing ferrying tourists to the project site.
SINGUR: 40 km from Sangareddy
MAJESTY OF N’SAGAR
When all the gates of Nagarjunasagar are opened, the sight of the gushing waters gives a majesty to this project on the Krishna. This year, the water level in the massive reservoir has risen to its full reservoir level of 590 ft. The tourism guest houses and hotels which had not been doing much business until the monsoon, have once again come to life. The Nagarjuna Konda Museum is a major tourist attraction here.
NAGARJUNASAGAR: 160 km from Hyderabad
HOLIDAY IN ADILABAD
In Adilabad district too, the Swarna, Kadem, Satnala, NTR Sagar, Muthadi and SRSP projects are attracting picnickers from all over the district. The district has faced particularly severe droughts for the past four years, and the people of the district are celebrating a change in fortunes brought about by the copious rains.
SRSP: 110 km from Adilabad, 40 km from Nizamabad.
–Agencies