The Telangana Government’s latest initiative “Mission Kakatiya” which focuses on restoration of tanks across the State to improve the groundwater table and irrigate lakhs of acres, surprisingly was also the pet project of the third ruler of Golkonda kingdom, Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah, (1518-1580 AD) taken up in 1554 AD, nearly 450 years ago.
According to an inscription found at Udayasamudram reservoir a few years ago, the well-wisher of Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah, Rahamtulla laid the a six-foot tall inscription on black stone.
The inscription written in Urdu and as well as in Telugu, says that Qutb Shah, who ruled the area from 1550 to 1580 AD, had constructed a Katva at Nemli in the upstream Indrapalanagaram tank of Ramannapet mandal, to divert the flow of water from Musi river to a chain of small tanks.
Speaking to The Hindu , historian, D. Surya Kumar, said the Qutb Shahi ruler had diverted the water from Musi to fill up the tanks at Valigonda, Indrapalnagaram, Tummalagudem, Narketpay , Cherlapalli near Nalgonda town and many more before the water flowed down Udyasamudram.
The inscription, according to Mr. Kumar, says that the feeder channel that connects all these tanks was in disuse when they were taken up for restoration work to allow the flow of water. Besides, the historian said that the feeder channel downstream Udayasamudram reservoir was also cleaned to let the water downstream where the Musi river confluences with Krishna river at Allagadapa village of Miryalaguda mandal after filling many a tanks located en route.
However, now the major part this feeder channel is not in use because the successive governments that ruled the State after Independence had neglected these tanks. Having 1.5 tmcft storage capacity, the Udayasamudram reservoir now gets water from Alimineti Madava Reddy Project (AMRP) canal. It is an irrigation water source to 2,000 acres and drinking water source to Nalgonda town and few other villages. The reservoir was constructed by Kunduru Chola King Udayudu in 1124 AD.
Technical Assistant at Panagal Museum, P.Nagaraju, said the rulers had also collected taxes from beneficiaries for restoration of Udayasamudram. According to the inscription, he said the King paid one share, farmers one and half and the Brahmins and Muslims both including two shares for the restoration work.
According to another inscription, Mr. Surya Kumar said that the King collected no taxes from the beneficiaries for restoring Kamalasamudram tank located at Iskilla village of Rammannapet mandal.
The historians opined that Ibrahim Qutb Shah had restored hundreds of tanks with this effort from Nemali to Allagadapa. The distance between these two places about 120 KM.
