Hussain Sagar

Hussain Sagar is a heart-shaped lake in Hyderabad, Telangana, built by Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah in 1563. It is spread across an area of 5.7 square kilometers and is fed by the River Musi. A large monolithic statue of the Gautama Buddha, erected in 1992, stands on Gibraltar Rock in the middle of the lake. It also separates the city centre of Hyderabad from its neighborhood Secunderabad.[1] The maximum depth of the lake is 32 feet.

Hussain Sagar
Images from top to bottom:
  • Rare view of Jupiter, Venus and the moon forming a triangle at Hussain Sagar
  • Buddha Statue during Blue Hour
  • Footpath at Hussain Sagar road
LocationHyderabad, Telangana, India
Coordinates17.45°N 78.5°E / 17.45; 78.5
TypeArtificial lake
Basin countriesIndia
Max. length3.2 km (2.0 mi)
Max. width2.8 km (1.7 mi)
Surface area4.4 km2 (2 sq mi)
Max. depth32 ft (9.8 m)
Surface elevation17,559,990 ft (5,352,280 m)
IslandsGibraltar rock (artificial)
SettlementsGreater Hyderabad

Hussain Sagar lake is a popular spot for sailing. The lake has also become a suicide spot in recent times.

History
A view of NSR bus on Tank Bund road c. 1932

Hussain Sagar was built across a tributary of the river Musi river in 1563 by Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah. The lake was named after Hussain Shah Wali, who helped to design it. It is an artificial lake that holds water perennially fed by canals from Musi river. Hussain Sagar was the main source of water supply to Hyderabad before Himayat Sagar and Osman Sagar were built on river Musi.

The Buddha statue was chiseled out of a white granite rock, weighing 450 tons. It was carved by 200 sculptors for two years. The statue was transported to Hyderabad in November 1988. After initial problems, the statue was erected on 12 April 1992 on a red lotus pedestal.

Landmarks and attractions
Boating point in the lake

The road on the Tank Bund was widened in 1946 when Sir Mirza Ismail was the prime minister of Hyderabad Deccan. Further widening and beautification of the Tank bund took place during 1987-88 by the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N.T.Rama Rao with the addition of fountains with dancing waters, tantalizing colored lights at night and bronze statues of renowned personalities.

Hussain Sagar Thermal Power Station

Hussain Sagar Thermal Power Station was built in the year 1920 by the 7th Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan on the banks of Hussain Sagar lake. It was the first thermal power station of South India.[2] It supplied power to the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad from the year 1920 to the year 1983.[3]

Patton Tank

The Pakistan M47 Patton tank is a war trophy given to the 54th Infantry Division who had disabled it during the Battle of Basantar in Pakistan, during 15–17 December 1971. It was given to the city by the battalion after the India Pakistan war of 1971.[4]

Buddha statue

An 18-meter high monolithic statue of Lord Buddha towers over the lake from atop the Rock of Gibraltar. The idea was a part of the Buddha Poornima project in 1985 by N. T. Rama Rao. The statue was chiseled out of a white granite rock, weighing 450 tons. It was carved by 200 sculptors for two years. The statue was transported to Hyderabad in November 1988. After initial problems, the statue was erected on 12 April 1992 on a red lotus pedestal.

Lumbini Park Jetty, Hyderabad
Birla Mandir in Hyderabad
Sanjeevaiah Park
Prasads IMAX
NTR memorial
Saidaanimaa tomb

Lumbini Park
Main article: Lumbini Park

Lumbini Park is an urban park of 7.5 acres (0.030 km2; 0.0117 sq mi) adjacent to Hussain Sagar. It was constructed at a cost of INR 2.35 crores on 5 acres of land as a part of the Buddha Poornima project. It has various attractions such as laser auditorium, boating facilities and musical fountains.[5]

Birla Mandir
Main article: Birla Mandir, Hyderabad

Birla Mandir refers to different Hindu temple built by the Birla family in different cities.All these temples are magnificently build with white marble on a 280 feet (85 m) high hillock called the Naubath Pahad located to the south of Hussain Sagar. The construction took 10 years and was consecrated in 1976 by Swami Ranganathananda of Ramakrishna Mission.[6]

Sanjeevaiah Park
Main article: Sanjeevaiah Park

Sanjeevaiah Park is a public green space and park located to the north of the lake. Built on 92 acres (37 ha), the park is named after Damodaram Sanjivayya, former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. The park is managed by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority and the park won the Best open landscape award during the 2010 Indian national trust for art and cultural heritage award presentations.[7]

Prasad's IMAX

Prasad's IMAX is a multiplex of an area of 2,35,000 sq ft, housing an IMAX movie theater, a five screen multiplex, food court, multinational fast food outlets, a gaming zone and a shopping mall covering two levels of the complex.[8] It is India's 3rd IMAX theater.[9][10]

Snow World
Main article: Snow World

Snow World is an amusement park located beside Indira Park and along the Hussain Sagar lake. The park can accommodate a total of 2,400 visitors in a day. Said to be the first of its kind at any show theme park or snow dome in the world, the visitors are exposed to snowfall for ten minutes for every hour.

NTR Gardens
Main article: NTR Gardens

NTR Gardens is a small urban park of 55 acres (0.22 km2; 0.086 sq mi) adjacent to Hussain Sagar lake. Constructed in several phases since 1999, the park is presently being maintained by the Buddha Purnima Project Authority that functions under the directives of the Government of Telangana. The park is named after and houses the memorial of N T Rama Rao, a matinee idol and former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh who died on 18 January 1996.

Tomb of Saidani Maa Sahebaa
Main article: Saidani Ma Tomb

Sayedani Maa Tomb is an Archaeological Survey of India declared heritage site located at the north end of Hussain Sagar. Saidani Maa Saheba was a saint of the Nizam era. An example of Islamic architecture, the tomb has been carved intricately with marble latticework.[11]

Sailing

Hussain Sagar lake is a popular spot for sailing. Regattas have been held here since 1971 jointly by the EME Sailing Association and the Secunderabad Sailing Club. Hyderabad Sailing Week has been conducted here since 1984 when the first laser boats were introduced by the Laser Class Association of India. The event has grown from 10 laser entries in 1984 to 110 laser entries in 2009. In August 2009 the lake was witness to the monsoon regatta in which sailors from all over India participated. Different classes of sailboats and yachts were raced including four J24, eighteen Hobie Cat and Forty-seven Optimist (dinghy).[12][13]

The Yacht Club of Hyderabad located at Sanjeevaiah Park started in 2009 and instituted the Monsoonregatta.com the same year. The club started with just 3 boats now boast of more than 45 on its premises including Lasers, Optimists, Omegas, Kayaks, and many safety and rescue vessels. The club trains youngsters to compete at the national level.

Statues of Icons in Tank Bund, Hyderabad
Boating Ghat near Hussain Sagar

34 well-sculptured bronze statues, mounted on high platforms, of people who played iconic role in the development of Hyderabad and Telugu culture along the Tank Bund road. The following 34 personalities are commemorated in the order of appearance from Secunderabad.[14]

Transport
Necklace Road MMTS Station

Hussain Sagar is near to Lakdi-Ka-Pul, Khairatabad and Assembly Hyderabad metro stations. Hussain Sagar is also serviced by MMTS Train stations at Necklace Road, James Street and Sanjeevaiah Park. Necklace Road runs along the lake and connects important locations on its banks.

Hussainsagar Lake Wetland Eco Region

The Hussain Sagar Jn was a 2 platform railway station earlier but was dismantled in the mid-1980s. It is now a Railway controlling cabin with three routes diverging towards Hyderabad, Secunderabad, and Begumpet.

Suicides

The lake has become a suicide spot, with 146 deaths and 510 suicide attempts between 2013 and 2016.[15] A lack of a proper rescue team, and a low fence barrier[16] has resulted in the high number of deaths.

International Recognition

Heart of the world by UNWTO
Hussain Sagar, a heritage site of India was declared as the 'Heart of the World' by UNWTO on 27 September 2012, on the occasion of World Tourism Day, for being the World's Largest Heart-Shaped Mark, the World's Heritage Heart-Shaped Mark, and the World's Wonderful Heart-Shaped Mark on the face of the earth among the heart-shaped marks formed by the heart-shaped lakes and islands that exist in the world. Logo for the 'Heart of the World' was inaugurated by H.E. Mr. Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General, United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), Madrid-Spain, in the year 2013.[17]

World's Largest Heart-Shaped Mark
Hussain Sagar lake is the largest heart-shaped mark among the marks formed by 78 heart-shaped lakes and 9 heart-shaped islands on the face of the earth.[17]

UNESCO world Heritage site tentative list
Hussain lake is one of the Qutub Shahi monuments of Hyderabad-Telangana, out of which Golconda Fort, Qutub Shahi Tombs, and Charminar were already placed in the tentative list of World Heritage Sites of UNESCO.

World's Wonderful Heart-Shaped Mark
This lake has many outstanding universal values of love around it in addition to its heart shape, the symbol of love, which explores the wonder of love in the world. King built the lake for his people's drinking & irrigation purpose out of his love towards his people. King Ibrahim named the lake after Hazrath Hussain Shawali (Sufi saint, medical practitioner and architect of the lake) as a sign of gratitude for Hussain's treatment that was given to the king during his sickness and made him recover from the sickness. Many historical monuments were placed on the bank.

Environmental conditions and conservation

Hussain Sagar Lake forms an important part of Hyderabad but now has become the main sewage collection zone of the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. As a result of heavy anthropogenic pressures such as unplanned urbanization, the entire ecosystem of Hussain Sagar Lake has changed. The water quality has deteriorated considerably during the last three decades. The lake has become shallow due to siltation and accumulation of plant debris. A 2008 study of the lake's water and sediment has found that it has exceeded its eutrophic condition, reaching hypereutrophic status.[18] Many undesirable changes in the structure of biological communities have resulted, and some important species have either declined or completely disappeared. Realizing the importance of conservation of Hussain Sagar Lake, a project has been formulated. This project shall be implemented by APPCB, Hyderabad, India. In this respect, a project feasibility report has been prepared for approval and financing. In spite of the commission of a sewage treatment plant on the western side, a large amount of untreated sewage and industrial effluents continue to flow into the lake.

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References
  1. "View of Buddha Statue, Tank Bund, Hyderabad, Telangana". indospectrum.com. Retrieved 2 November 2006.
  2. Hussain Sagar Lake - 450+ years old Man made Lake
  3. "V6 Ground Report – History of Hussain Sagar Thermal Power Station". 10 November 2014.
  4. "War hero recalls tank bund". The Times of India.
  5. Ramanathan, Gayatri (3 April 2003). "Hi-tech entertainments on the anvil for Hyderabad". The Times of India. Retrieved 17 August 2008.
  6. "Birla Mandir - Hyderabad - Andhra Pradesh state in India". indiatourism.ws. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  7. "Art from recycled material at Sanjeevaiah Park". The Hindu. 27 April 2010. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  8. "GHMC - Prasad's IMAX". Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation. Archived from the original on 19 December 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  9. "CNN Travel". CNN.
  10. "King of Good times Prasad's Imax". The Hindu. 7 August 2011.
  11. thecityguide.in
  12. "Smooth sailing on murky waters". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 20 August 2009.
  14. "Glory restored, The statues of Telugu icons at Tank Bund get makeover". Times of India. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  15. Lasania, Yunus Y. (7 August 2016). "Hussainsagar, for many the lake of lost hope". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  16. Kumar, Naveen (27 February 2018). "Hyderabad: Sagar's low fence to blame for suicides". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  17. "DECLARATION OF HEART OF THE WORLD ON WORLD TOURISM DAY 2012 - UNWTO". UNWTO.
  18. Suneela M, Radha Krishna G, Vamsi Krishna K, Manga Sai V, Bhargav V, et al. (2008). Sangupta M, Dalwani R (eds.). "Water and sediment analysis of Hussain Sagar Lake, Hyderabad" (PDF). World Lake Database. Environmental Protection Training and Research Institute. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
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