Modern Hyderabad (Deccan)/Chapter 9
CHAPTER IX.
Irrigation.
Any one who has travelled through Hyderabad State in April and May will realize that irrigation is of supreme importance in the Dominions. Fierce, hot winds tear then across the plains, drying up the water and baking the land. People hide indoors, and animals, with heads hanging down, look in vain for a green leaf or a blade of grass. The coming monsoon is the only topic of conversation, and the blue-grey sky is anxiously scanned for a cloud, if "no bigger than a man's hand." The jowari fields that delight tourists in the cold weather, and have been compared by Americans with the maize prairies of South America, have vanished, and the parched earth fills the sceptic with fears of drought and famine.
In the Telingana water is stored in tanks. In the Marathwara wells are relied upon for water. Famines from time to time occur, and since 1876, government relief works have, during periods of scarcity, been carried on, such as constructing wells and extending and making roads, and those who cannot work have received food and shelter from the government.
The importance of storing water was understood even by the ancient Hindu rulers; but most of the great reservoirs in the State were made by the Kings of Golconda, and the Nizams and their ministers. The Husain Saugar at Hyderabad, which extends, when full, over an area of 8 sq. miles, and supplies water to Hyderabad and Secunderabad, dates from 1575 A.D., when Sultan Ibrahim Kutb Shah built a dam on which, now, the wealth of Hyderabad and the beauty of Secunderabad meet, at sunset. In fact, since the energetic Mint Master lighted the Bund by electricity in September 1913, the road that separates Hyderabad from Secunderabad has become one of the pleasantest places in H. H. the Nizam's Dominions.
The beautiful Mir Alum tank, to the south-west of the city, the Pakhal Lake in the Warangal division, which covers nearly 13 sq. miles, the Afzal Saugar, the Ibrahimpatan, the Jalpalli and other tanks, bear witness to the sagacity and public spirit of rulers who have been and who are no more. And now Hyderabad is to have yet another great tank, and one that will most happily commemorate the accession of H. H. Mir Osman Ali Khan to the throne of his forefathers.
After the terrible flood of 1908, which was the highest and most disastrous that had occurred in Hyderabad for at least three- quarters of a century, and which was caused by the overflow of the river Musi, that generally runs in a small, turgid stream below the city wall, the government of His Highness the late Nizam engaged the services of Mr. M. Visvesvaraya, b.a., c.e., m.inst.c.e., Superintending Engineer, P.W.D., Bombay (now Dewan of Mysore), to advise and assist in the reconstruction of the city and to devise measures for the prevention of the recurrence of such a terrible catastrophe. He was ably assisted by Mr. Ahmed Ali, f.c.h., now secretary to government, P. W. D., Hyderabad, and after much investigation and deliberation these gentlemen gave it as their opinion that the immunity of Hyderabad city from flood must come from the construction of flood catchment areas in the basin above the city, and they proposed to construct two such reservoirs a few miles above the capital, which would be large enough to store all the water ordinarily available for developing irrigation in the valley, and these reservoirs were to cost 56 lakhs of rupees for flood prevention and 45 lakhs for irrigation.
On his accession to the gadi, H. H. the present Nizam sanctioned a portion of this scheme, namely, the damming of the river Musi at Gundipett, a project having as its dual object the mitigation of the possible inundation of the city by flood and the supply of pure drinking water to the populations of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
On March 23rd, 1913, His Highness the Nizam laid the first stone of the Osman Saugar Reservoir, in the presence of the Hon'ble the British Resident, H. E. the Minister, the members of His Highness's government and the leading inhabitants of the city and its suburbs.
An address was read by A. T. Mackenzie, Esq., Superintending Engineer, Irrigation Branch, P. W. D., and he said : —
"Your Highness, Colonel Pinhey, ladies and gentlemen, — The history of this work will not take long to relate. It began in calamity. Let us hope it may end in blessing. None who were here will ever forget the disastrous flood of September 1908. I need not descant upon the loss of life and property, the widespread havoc and suffering it caused. It was the talk of the world. His Highness the late Nizam and his advisers determined then and there that everything humanly possible must be done to prevent such another catastrophe, and in this determination and in the action it called forth none took a greater part than one who has now left Hyderabad but who retains — I have it from his own lips and all who knew him will be certain of it without his declaration — who retains, I say,- a deep and loving interest in this State and its inhabitants, for whom he did so much. I refer to Sir George Casson Walker. (Applause.) Without him it is not too much to say that this work would never have come into being and with his name must be coupled that of his successor, Mr. Glancy. (Applause.)
"His late Highness's advisers were fortunate in the officer selected to plan a method of protection. The choice fell upon Mr. Visvesvaraya, one of the ablest of India's engineers, a man who would make his mark in any walk of life, and who is now doing splendid service as Dewan of Mysore. It is to him that we are indebted for the scheme which we are now commencing. The details have been published in the form of a report which all may read and which need not be recapitulated here. In this report he has borne cordial testimony to the great assistance he received from Mr. Ahmed Ali and to the high qualities shewn by that officer in the course of the investigation.
"Mr. Visvesvaraya's scheme has not been materially altered. It has, however, received an addition of great importance. The occasion has been seized not only to protect the city from floods but also to provide it with a pure and bountiful supply of drinking water, the first requisite of health and well-being in any country, but in India above all. We hope that in four years the city of Hyderabad and the cantonment of Secunderabad will be blessed with a supply of water that for purity, copiousness and permanence, can challenge comparison with any town in the East. (Applause.)
"A word may be permitted concerning the magnitude of the work. For this is no light undertaking. In no part of the world would it be a small matter to dam up a river draining nearly 300 sq. miles of country and subject to violent floods, with a wall 125 feet high, to transform it into a placid lake three or four times the area of the Husain Saugar, and capable of containing ten times the quantity of water, to construct a covered conduit twelve miles long, and a pipe system for nearly a million people. There have been big engineering works carried out in India. This in its boldness and width of view is as big as any. It may be confidently asserted that it is by far the biggest thing ever done in Hyderabad. Your Highness will be glad to know that you have in Mr. Dalai an officer eminently capable of bringing this great effort to a successful conclusion, and in this I speak with knowledge, for I have seen and studied and admired the difficult and arduous enterprise of a similar nature that he has already carried out in Mysore.
"It will not be out of place to point out that this work at which we are now assembled is but an instalment. It only half protects Hyderabad from floods, it much reduces their intensity, but it does not confer entire immunity. The river Easi has still to be controlled, an even larger and more costly work, but one which can be applied to a purpose which in India is of overwhelming importance in irrigation. It will not come in my time, but I sincerely hope that His Highness who is young and by God's blessing strong and vigorous, will some day complete the whole scheme which he is now here to inaugurate. (Applause.)
"Mention has been made of the officers to whom this work is chiefly due, but above all Hyderabad must thank the Nizam. It would be presumptuous to make more than a passing reference to the insight and decision of character which prompted him to sanction such an undertaking as one of the first very important actions of his reign. This reservoir is, by permission, Your Highness, to be called by your name. I beg you with this trowel to lay the first stone of the Osman Saugar." (Prolonged applause.)
H. H. the Nizam, speaking in Urdu, then said : — "The Hon'ble Colonel Pinhey, the Prime Minister and those present, — Last Sunday I saw in the papers that His Imperial Majesty the King-Emperor personally laid the foundation stone of a reservoir in his capital, London. For this reason I am very glad that I have also the opportunity of performing a similar function, and to-day I personally lay the foundation stone of the new reservoir of my capital. I am glad to accept the proposal of the Prime Minister and the Chief Engineer that the reservoir, which by the Almighty's favour will shortly be completed, be called hereafter by my name. (Applause.) I considered all the difficulties in carrying out such a great project, and am glad that during my reign the first work started should be one of perpetual and continuing benefit to my subjects. I thank God that he has fulfilled my desire. In the same way I hope the work will be successfully completed and the desire of my well-wishers and citizens will be fulfilled. I would like to state that praise is due to Mr. Visvesvaraya, who is at present Dewan of Mysore, in conjunction with Mr. Ahmed Ali Sahib, the Secretary to Government, P. W. D., who propounded the scheme and drew the attention of my government to its advantages. Besides these, I appreciate the efforts of those officers who brought the scheme to its present state. (Applause.)
I am also confident that the experienced Engineers, Mr. Mackenzie and Mr. Dalai, who have taken the burden of the execution of the work on their shoulders, will complete it satisfactorily, and supply good drinking water to Hyderabad and Secunderabad, and also supply water to cultivators, and thereby my Dominions will be benefited. I thank the Hon'ble Colonel Pinhey and others present for associating themselves with me on this notable occasion in my kingdom. In conclusion, I hereby declare that the building of this Saugar shall commence from to-day."
The stone was then lowered into position by Mr. Mackenzie, and afterwards His Highness tapped it three times with a trowel, saying "I declare this stone well and truly laid. " On the stone was the following inscription in Urdu and in English :
"This stone was laid by His Highness the Nizam Nawab Osman Ali Khan Bahadur, g.c.s.i., in the second year of his reign, 1913 A.D."
The Hon'ble Colonel Pinhey called for three cheers for His Highness, and after these had been given, 101 dynamite blasts were fired by electricity on the rocky side of the gorge beyond and great pieces of granite were blown into the air and fell in showers of stone and dust. When the excitement had subsided, His Highness went with the Resident and the Prime Minister to the bed of the river and made himself acquainted with what was being done on the spot; and afterwards he returned with Colonel Pinhey to Hyderabad, leaving the proposed reservoir in the care of the Irrigation Branch of the P. W. D.