Telangana region marked in white within the state of Andhra Pradesh.
Of the three regions of the state, Telangana has the largest area, with 8,14,800 km2.The Telangana deccan plateau is drained by two major rivers, the Godavari and the Krishna. The entire region is divided into two main regions namely ghats and peneplains. The surface is dotted with low depressions. The region has very valuable coal mines in ramagundam.
Natural resources (rivers, coal, limestones, forests)
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Telangana region Andhra Pradesh is situated in the central stretch of the eastern seaboard of the Indian Peninsula. The river Godavari is flowing on the North and the river Krishna is flowing on the South. 69% of Krishna River and 79% of Godavari River catchment area is in Telangana. Apart from the major rivers, there are other small rivers such as Manair, Bhima, Dindi, Kinnerasani, Manjeera, Munneru, Moosi, Penganga, Praanahita, and Peddavagu and Taliperu.
Forests: 45% of the forest area in the state is in Telangana region spread across five districts.
Coal: 20% of the coal deposits in the country is in Telangana region. Singareni Collieries excavate Coal and used it for industrial purposes and for thermal power stations. The coal supplied from this region, and the power produced is supplied to entire south india.
Limestones: There are limestone deposits in the region, which cater to cement factories in the region. Telangana also has got other resources like bauxite, and mica.
Demography
9 out of 10 districts(except Hyderabad district) in the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh are recognized by the Government of India as backward. According to the Backward Regions Grant Fund 2009-10, 13 districts are located in Andhra Pradesh, 9 are from Telangana and the rest are from other regions. 86% of Telangana is Hindu while 12.4% is Muslim, and 1.2% is Christian. Hyderabad city has 25% of the total Muslim population. Telangana districts(outside Hyderabad district) have 8.4% of Muslim population.
More than 90% of Telangana people speak the Telangana dialect of Telugu which is primarily Telugu with Urdu influences.[citation needed] About 11% of Telangana people speak Hyderabadi Urdu. Urdu speakers are mostly Muslims in Hyderabad city and in other major towns though people of other ethnicities also use Urdu for day to day life.
Culture and identity
Telangana has its own distinctive culture and identity. Most prominent is the Hyderabadi Culture also called Deccan Culture.[162][163] The Telugu language spoken here has evolved into a new dialect with a liberal mixture of words from Urdu.[citation needed] Telugu is the major language spoken while Urdu is spoken by Muslims. Hindi is spoken by people from other states of North India and Central India like Gujarat and Maharashtra. Telugu, Urdu and English are the official languages of the region.
Festivals: Diwali, Dassera, Eid-ul-Fitr and Ugadi are prominent festivals in Telangana. The region celebrates distinctive festivals like Bathukamma, and Bonalu. The other festivals of Hindu and Muslims such as Holi, Rakhi and Moharram are also celebrated with equal enthusiasm as in northern India. The national festival Sankranti is also celebrated in the beginning of harvest season on 14 January every year.
Places of interest
Golkonda fort overlooking Hyderabad
Osman Sagar, Gandipet Lake
* Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh
* Makkah Masjid, Prominent mosque in Hyderabad
* Ramappa Temple, Historic temple located 77 kilometers from Warangal District.
* Charminar - An iconic 400 year-old landmark of Hyderabad, featuring four graceful minarets.
* Falaknuma Palace - Built by Nawab Viqar al-Umra', a beautiful and stunning piece of architecture.
* Golconda Fort - located on the outskirts of the city, Golconda Fort is one of the most magnificent fortress complexes in India.
* Salar Jung Museum - houses the largest one-man collection of antiques in the world.
* Birla Mandir - An elaborate white marble temple with majestic views of the city and the Husain Sagar (lake).
* Birla Planetarium - located in the heart of the city on the panoramic hillock of Nawbat Pahad.
* Husain Sagar - man-made lake that separates the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
* Chilkur Balaji Temple, also known as Visa Balaji Temple
* Osman Sagar, also known as Gandipet, is a lake near the city.
* NTR Gardens, the 'samadhi' of former Chief Minister Shri.N.T.Rama Rao.
* Purani Haveli - The former official residence of the Nizam.
* Sanghi Temple - A temple dedicated to Venkateshwara which graces a promontory overlooking Sanghi Nagar.
* Madhapur - The IT Capital of Andhra Pradesh.
* Nagarjuna sagar on Krishna river in Nalgonda district
* Bhadrachalam - a sacred place for Lord rama in khammam district
* Parnashala - a sacred place where Lord rama lived during his 14 years forest life , located in Khammam district 35 km from Bhadrachalam.
* Jamalapuram - Known as telangana chinna Tirupathi , an abode of Lord Venkateshwara , located in khammam district 80 km from khammam town.
* Warangal, capital city of Kakatiyas
* Veyisthambala Gudi, Hanamkonda, Warangal District.
* Basara Saraswathi Temple, a temple of Saraswati, one of the two temples in India, which is located in Adilabad Dist 60 km away from Nirmal Temple Web site
* Medak: Famous for outstanding church & Medak khila
* Bhongir fort:Famous single stone hill with fort , 45 km from Hyderabad (Wgl-Hyd highway)
* Yadagirigutta: Famous Laxmi Narasimha Swamy Temple, 50 km from Hyderabad (Wgl-Hyd highway)
* Vemulawada - Rajarajeshawara Temple: Located 38 km from Karimnagar built by chalukyas between AD 750 and 975.
* Kaleshwaram : 130 km from Karimnagar
* Dharmapuri : On the banks of River Godavari, 78 km from Karimnagar, is the 15th century temple town of Dharmapuri.
* Nagunur Fort : The village of Nagunur is about 8 km from Karimnagar Town.
* Dhulikatta : 20 km from Karimnagar is Dhulikatta an important Buddhist spot visited by monks from all over the world.
* Kondagattu :About 35 km from Karimnagar is this breathtaking temple of Lord Anjaneya Swamy. Apart from the temple, the fort of Kondalaraya & Bojjapotana caves are worth seeing at Kondagattu.
* Molangoor Quilla : 30 km from Karimnagar, strategically located on summit of a big isolated granite hill, this fort was built by the Kakathiyas.
* Manthani : Ancient center for Vedic teachings. It is located on the banks of River Godavari, and at a distance of 70 kilometers from Karimnagar.
* Elgandal fort : Located 15 km away from Karimnagar.
* Nirmal:is very famous for handicrafts and paintings
* Basar: The famous saraswathi(goddess of wisdom) temple on the banks of River Godavari in Adilabad District
* Alampur : is a temple-town, Home to the very ancient Navabhramma temples and is referred to as Dakshina Kashi. The principal deities at Alampur are Brahmeshwara and Jogulamba.
* Kuntala Water falls : Adilabad district.
IRRIGATION
Andhra Pradesh is situated in the central stretch of the eastern seaboard of the Indian Peninsula. Telangana is situated at a high altitude in an up-land area. The river Godavari is flowing on the North and the river Krishna is flowing on the South in Telangana region. Apart from the major rivers, there are other small rivers such as Bhima, Dindi, Kinnerasani, Manjeera, Manair, Penganga, Praanahita, and Peddavagu and Taliperu.
In erstwhile Hyderabad State, medium projects, like Pocharam, Dindi, Palair, Vyra, Manair, Khanapur were constructed apart from Nizamsagar Project, which was completed in 1924-31. It was envisioned to utilize 58 TMC water to irrigate 2,75,000 acres of land in Nizamabad District.
The total permitted utilization of water under Godavari and Krishna for Telangana region in erstwhile Hyderabad State was under 951 MOU. The following given table shows the River Basin with projects existing, under execution and contemplated.
GODAVARI BASIN :
EXISTING Total TMC
1. Nizamsagar Project 58.00TMC
2. Medium Projects 60.00TMC
3. Minor Projects 35.00 TMC
153.00 TMC
UNDER EXECUTION Total TMC
1. Godavari Basin 364.00 TMC
2. Kadam 53.00 TMC
3. Lower Manair 12.00 TMC
4. Devanoor 27.0 TMC
465TMC
CONTEMPLATED
1. Ichampally Project 32.00 TMC
TOTAL 609.00 TMC
KRISHNA BASIN :
EXISTING Total TMC
1. Rajoli Banda 15-90TMC
2. Medium Projects 36-10 TMC
3. Miner Projects 90.80 TMC
142.00 TMC
UNDER EXECUTION
1. Nagarjunsagar left canal 161.00 TMC
2. Tungabhadra left canal 19.00 TMC
180.00 TMC
CONTEMPLATED
1. Upper Krishna Project 54.40 TMC
2. Bhima 100.60 TMC
155.00 TMC
Total 322.00 TMC
(TOTAL TMC OF WATER FOR GODAVARI AND KRISHNA BASIN is 931.00 TMC)
After the formation of the state of Andhra Pradesh, the proposed projects under Godavari, Krishna basin were not implemented. Also the water resources were diverted to the Andhra region.
Server projects envisaged under Godavari delta basin were ignored and Devnoor project was completely removed. The Pochampad project was sanctioned under pressure from Telangana leadership, but the entire water utilization under Godavari was now reduced from 400 TMC to 112 TMC. The reservoir capacity was finally sanctioned for storing 82 TMC of water. With this capacity, the Godavari valley projects irrigation is now reduced to 10.25 lakh acres from 40 lakh acres. Many projects sanctioned could not be implemented properly even after four decades of formation of Andhra Pradesh.
Usually the allocation of water is based on the available water in catchment area and the land available for irrigation. Under the Nagarjuna Sagar Project's left canal, 161 TMC of water should have been allocated, but only 82 TMC of water is available for irrigation.
The water allocation to the Andhra Pradesh state was 1480 TMC under Godavari basin and 856 TMC under Krishna basin. By looking at the ground facts, it is obvious that how much disparity has been shown on Telangana region. The given below are the facts of water allocation for Andhra and Telangana regions from Godavari and Krishna rivers.
The river Godavari flows for about 79% of its catchment area in Telangana. Geographically about 70% of Telangana land is suitable for irrigation. On this basis Telangana region should get 70% (1036 TMC) allocation out of 1480 TMC and the rest of 30% (144 TMC) only should have been allocated to Andhra region. But the ground realities are quite different and shocking. The water utilization under Godavari basin is about 760 TMC so far, out of which 320 TMC of water is being diverted to Andhra region as against 124 TMC. This resulted in diverting 281 TMC of water from Telangana region to Andhra region.
River Krishna is no different from river Godavari. River Krishna flows for about 68.5% in the catchment area in Telangana and 31.5% catchment in Andhra region. Only 37% of water (266.8 TMC) is allocated to Telangana region against 68.5%. Where as 500.1 TMC water is allocated to Andhra region. Only 27% of water is available for cultivable lands in Telangana. It means 50% of the Ayacut under Krishna basin in Telagana is not getting water.
The following table which shows how the total irrigated area in Telangana region decreased compared to Andhra region from the year 1956 –97.
TOTAL IRRIGATED AREA IN HECTARES
| |||||
ANDHRA
|
56-57
|
65-66
|
67-70
|
83-84
|
96-97
|
Srikakulam
|
21,600
|
2,44,000
|
2,54,000
|
1,83,000
|
1,60,000
|
Vizayanagaram
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1,26,000
|
1,34,000
|
Visakhapatnam
|
1,99,000
|
1,39,000
|
1,71,000
|
1,02,000
|
1,24,000
|
East Godavari
|
2,99,000
|
2,39,000
|
2,37,000
|
4,30,000
|
4,01,000
|
West Godavari
|
3,65,000
|
2,74,000
|
2,88,000
|
5,24,000
|
4,25,000
|
Krishna
|
3,33,000
|
3,04,000
|
3,89,000
|
4,46,000
|
4,00,000
|
Guntur
|
2,08,000
|
2,62,000
|
3,64,000
|
3,56,000
|
3,10,000
|
Prakasham
|
-
|
-
|
85,000
|
1,30,000
|
1,30,000
|
Nellore
|
2,95,000
|
2,25,000
|
2,28,000
|
2,48,000
|
1,95,000
|
Chittore
|
2,05,000
|
91,000
|
1,13,000
|
86,000
|
98,000
|
Cuddapah
|
1,27,000
|
61,000
|
84,000
|
71,000
|
49,000
|
Anantapur
|
1,29,000
|
68,000
|
86,000
|
70,000
|
59,000
|
Kurnool
|
69,000
|
87,000
|
1,31,000
|
1,32,000
|
1,08,000
|
Total
|
24,45,000
|
19,44,000
|
25,35,000
|
29,04,000
|
25,93,000
|
TELANGANA | |||||
Ranga Reddy
|
55,000
|
26,000
|
14,000
| ||
Hyderabad
|
1,000
|
500
|
200
|
150
|
196
|
Nizamabad
|
1,33,000
|
1,15,000
|
1,32,000
|
1,53,000
|
71,000
|
Medak
|
1,15,000
|
75,000
|
69,000
|
93,000
|
38,000
|
Mahabub Nagar
|
1,19,000
|
80,000
|
72,000
|
1,00,000
|
35,000
|
Nalgonda
|
1,33,000
|
68,000
|
1,56,000
|
2,01,000
|
1,53,000
|
Warangal
|
1,26,000
|
1,14,000
|
1,32,000
|
1,28,000
|
98,000
|
Khammam
|
55,000
|
1,10,000
|
80,000
|
1,24,000
|
1,39,000
|
Karimnagar
|
1,45,000
|
1,01,000
|
81,000
|
1,42,000
|
1,28,000
|
Adilabad
|
31,000
|
31,000
|
37,000
|
49,000
|
42,000
|
Total
|
9,12,000
|
7,12,000
|
7,79,000
|
10,16,000
|
7,18,000
|
*Source:Director of Economics and Statistics, A.P.
The total irrigated area in Andhra region increased from 24.45 lakhs hectares to 26.00 lakhs hectares where as the total irrigated area in Telangana region decreased from 9.12 lakh hectares to 7.18 lakh hectares, about 22% decrease. This shows a dangerous trend of decreasing cultivable lands in Telangana.
The bar chart given below clearly shows the disparity between Coastal Andhra and Telangana region in utilising canal water for irrigation.
 |
|
Distribution of surplus water under Krishna Basin
The Krishna water tribunal awarded 800 TMC of water for Andhra Pradesh. It also permitted to utilize the surplus water as a tail end state. It was agreed after prolonged discussions on utilization of surface water between Andhra and Telangana Regions, that the surplus water should be utilized in the ratio of 50-50 of the available water resources. The allocation was made as follows.
A) ANDHRA REGION
1) Telugu Ganga Project 29 TMC
2) Sreesailam Right Bank Canal 19 TMC
B) TELANGANA REGION
1)Sreesailam Left Bank Canal 30 TMC
2)Bheema Lift Irrigation 20 TMC
Though allocation was made as above, so far the benefits are being accrued under Telugu Ganga Project and SreeSailam Right Bank canal. These schemes are being implemented with World Bank Loan by merging Sreeramsagar Project (in Telangana) by showing it as AP II, AP-III. The SreeSailam bank canal is yet to be completed, and Bheema left irrigation project is kept under cold storage.
The future development of ayacut in Telangana is mainly dependent on the development and execution of Godavari river basin. Although The Andhra Pradesh Government has constituted Godavari utilization authority years back, so far there is no progress. The Inchampally and Polavaram Projects were planned on Godavari long back, but since last forty years interstate dispute was not resolved and these projects are kept pending.
Andhra Pradesh, Maharastra and Madhya Pradesh reached an agreement in1978 regarding Inchampally. As per this agreement, Andhra Pradesh can utilize only 85 TMC of water and the balance of water can be utilized only to generate Hydroelectric Power. The expenditure has to be borne by Andhra Pradesh, Maharastra & Madhya Pradesh at the ratio of 78%, 10.5% and 11.4% respectively. Andhra Pradesh will get 27% of the generated power. Experts believe that the Inchampally project would benefit Andhra region more than Telangana region. Out of 360 TMC of water, only 85 TMC will be utilized for irrigation in Telangana. The rest of the water after utilization for generation of power will flow down wards to Dhawaleswaram Barrage or to Polavaram project.
1) Pedda Bellalla (below the confluence of kadem)
2) VenKatapuram down stream of ichampaiiy
3) Yellampally (further down to Manchiryal)
4) Dummugudem (near Luxettipet)
With these minor and medium projects and with lift irrigation, at least 200 TMC of water can be utilized for 10 lakh acres in kharif and another 5 lakh acres in rabi seasons.
