Sri Neelakanteshwara Shrine, Nizamabad

The Neelakantheswara Temple is located on a picturesque hillock in Nizamabad town. Of the temples at the place, the shrine of Sri Neelakantheswara, depicting Jain architecture is the most important one for the Hindus.Neelakanteshwara Temple is located atop a hillock in Nizamabad. An important shrine for the Jains, the Neelakanteshwara Temple is a wonderful example of Jain architecture. It holds a special place in the minds of the Jains and a visit to this temple is considered special.

An important day of worship is the Rathasaptami day, which falls in the month of January/February. On this day, the rays of the sun fall on the Shiva Lingam. Considered an auspicious day, people from far and wide converge at the Neelakanteshwara Temple to worship the deity with ardent fervour.
The temple is essentially a religious site and families would enjoy a visit to the shrine. The temple is open from dawn to dusk and offer a serene atmosphere to the devotees.

Some of the other attractions located nearby are the Ali Sagar Reservoir, Nizam Sagar Dam, Pocharam Sanctuary and the MoBay Undersea Tour. Nature lovers, adventure seekers, back packers and photography enthusiasts will find a visit to these sites rewarding.

Neelakanteshwara Temple is easily accessible from all parts of Nizamabad by local modes of transport. The best time for a comfortable visit would be the months of October to March.

In the Neelakantheswara temple, the Sun's rays fall on the Shivalingam on the Rathasaptami day (January-February) and it is at this time the Neelakantheswara Festival is celebrated for two days. Special prayers are offered on this day. About 30,000 devotees attend this festival.

HOW TO GET THERE
Rail: Nizamabad town has a railway station.

Road: Nizamabad is well connected by road with Karimnagar, Adilabad, Warangal, Nanded (Maharashtra) and Hyderabad city.

Nizam Sagar Dam

Among many of the dams which are serving in India, one is Nizam Dam. The dam is located in Nizamabad district which comes under state, Andhra Pradesh. This reservoir is constructed across the Majira River, which is also known as the subsidiary of Godavari River. This dam is constructed in the villages of Baniapalle and Achampet. The water which is under this reservoir is transferred for drinking purposes in the cities of Secunderabad and Hyderabad. This dam is located at a distance of 144 km from the main city of Hyderabad. Because of this dam, the problem of pure drinking water for these two cities went off.

History
The dam of Nizamsagar was constructed by the rulers of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan in the year of 1923. There were 40 villages those were cleared for the construction of this dam. This dam is among the world’s largest dams as well. It is having historical connection that in early 40s’; Mahatma Gandhi along with Jawahar Lal Nehru visited this dam.

The Dam
The dam of Nizamabad is located in a stretch of 3 kms and having a motor able road on it which is fourteen feet wide. There are various kinds of transport facilities available and tourists may also get good boarding and lodging facilities in that place.

Before the dam was constructed, the connection of Manjira River was not proper and it was difficult for a person to get the water after diverting water to irrigate a land of 5000 acres Mehboob Nagar which is in Medak District. When the construction of Manjira River was going on, Ghanpur Anicut was the first place which was to be facilitated in the year 1904. It was having an estimated cost of Rs.18 lacs. After few years, Superintending Engineer, Nawab Ali Nawaj Jung Bahadur included Fatch Nahar which was also known as left canal to the river so that the utilities of it may be increased.  As per the sources, prior to the construction, only 17308 acres land was irrigated but after the construction process was completed, 30000 acres land is getting facility for irrigation. The project of construction of Nizamabad Dam was the second irrigation system that was started on Manira River and it was also the largest construction project that was taken in the year of 1923 and it finished off in the year 1931. It was the biggest project of pre independence. The project was completed originally for utilizing 58.00 TMC water for irrigating a land area of 275000 acres. This land is available in districts like Nizamabad, Banswada, Bodhan, Armoor Taluks which also comes under the Nizamabad district. Since the rearrangement of states took place in 1956, Manjira basin came into conflict among three states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka.There were different irrigation schemes that were started in three different states. Some of them are listed below:

Singur Project and Manjira Barrage project were started in Andhra Pradesh to facilitate fresh and pure drinking water in the cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

Two projects, naming Choukinala and Karanja Projects were started in Karnataka and two projects Manjira and Tiruna Projects were started in Maharashtra. Since the projects of Nizamsagar and Ghanpur Anicut dwindled during the inclination period. The silts at this reservoir were more pacer that those were designed for. There was a survey conducted by the Andhra Pradesh Engineering and Research Laboratories, Hyderabad in the year 1973 which had shown some things that the capacity of the reservoir had been reduced to some level. After this, the remodeling project was done and it has been raised to some level so that the capacity of water can be stored easily in it.

Apart from the fact of above listed treatment, the total of 28085 acres land out of 275000 acres was submerged because of the Sreeramsagar Project. Some part that is 8296 acres came under the facility of Kakatiya and Lakshmi Canal under the Sreeramsagar project. Despite of all these things, 7260 acres of land was not getting any kind of water support from Nizamabad Project and as per the settlement, the land area decreased from the total of 275000 to 231339 acres.

Apart from all the facts that were discussed above, the Nizamabad Project did not only declined the land area only but also delayed the agricultural process that was about to commence as the water supply will get normal. But due to loss in crops and improper arrangement of water supply made the things go in wrong way. In some years, from 1972 to 1995, this problem arisen multiple of times.
Interstate Dispute

As per the entitlement of this project the water use is only 58 TMC. The 75 percent of the dependable water is available under the Godavari Water Dispute Tribunal. Water dependability has been declined to 33 percent. This is because states like Maharashtra and Karnataka used large amount of water in last decade. They used water excess to their potential as it was discussed at the time of the entitlement of GWDT. Through this reason, the big project which was started before independence came on a break as it needs to have water inflows. Apart from this reason, the water which was under this reservoir was contaminated and it was discovered that it was not for consumption not only by humans but also by cattle. The ground water which was available also had high salinity because of which it was also impure. At this time, Central Government interrupted to this event and constituted a fresh tribunal. It was created under the act of Interstate River Water Disputes Act-1956. it was formed to resolve the shortage of water and to improve its quality of water under this reservoir.
   
Attractions                                                                                                                           

Pocharam Sanctuary
Pocharam Sancturay is the sanctuary that is having lush green forest in it. it is named after the Pocharam Lake which was dammed to Allair. It happened from the year 1961-22. The place is having good flora and fauna and a person may relax among the natural beauty which is available to this place.  Most of the visitors come to this place. There are various trees that attract the people like Bar Headed Goose, Open Billed Stork, Brahminy Bucks.

This is the center for Eco tourism where people can watch species of Deer and Antelopes. The temperature of this place also provide better facilities to the people as in summers, it does not go more than 46 degrees and in winter, it does not less than 6 degrees. Large numbers of wild animals are found in this sanctuary. Best time to visit this place is from November to June.

Saraganpur Temple
There is a temple naming Sarangpur temple which is located very near to the district of Nizamabad. It is located in a town of Alisagar which is 7 kms from the main district. There is a temple of Lord Hanuman is located on the top of the hill. The construction of this temple was done by Ramdas. There is a total of 1400 acres land available with this temple. The development process for Alisagar town is easily possible with the land which is available with this temple. There is a place where gardening is done and it is done on wider scale. There are acres of land available for Sarangpur that may be developed as per the terms of Eco tourismby creating various facilities.

Ashok Sagar, Nizamabad

Starting from the year  2001 the district administration has been making efforts to develop Nizamabad as a major Tourism place, cashing on its beautiful lakes, green forests, historical places and proximity to Saraswathi temple, Basar. The district is being promoted as a “Great Get-away Destination” Many new projects and innovative steps like conduct of a major “Indur Utsav” tourism festival, opening of Heritage Museum, development of Infrastructure facilities, opening up of historical places, bringing focus on to ancient temples and starting of eco-friendly projects have been taken to attract people. Among this development of “Asok Sagar” as an eco-friendly tourist place is a mile stone in the history of Nizamabad.

ASOK SAGAR:

Located about 7 K.Ms. away from Nizamabad town, the old Jankampet cheruvu (lake) with its foreshore covered with jungle growth, infested with rodents, snakes, filth and garbage has now been converted into an attractive destination. This is situated on the route to the famous Saraswathi temple at Basar from Hyderabad. The transformation in just (6) months from November 2001 to a beautiful rock garden with illuminated rocks and boating facilities by May,2002 has been phenomenal. Asok Sagar now boasts of excellent boating facilities with two (18) seater boats, two (4) seater speed boats, four (4) pedal boats, a restaurant, beautiful rocks, exquisite landscapes and excellent garden.
  
The old polluting environment has been converted into an aesthetic place blending harmoniously with the beautiful natural settings of huge rock boulders. The fifteen feet marble statue of Godess Saraswathi, in the middle of the lake, gives a breath taking view in moon lit nights. This unique statue kept in a unique location has won many admirers.The pagoda topped, octagonal shaped "Asok Sagar Restaurant" is beautiful because of its shape, size and color! It is a three tier restaurant-- open air restaurant on the top; cozy, glass paneled formal restaurant in the middle and the "water level"  restaurant at the bottom.
 The swing rope way  entry is another USP of the area. There is an amphitheater, with huge rocks forming a magnificant back drop. The Childrens' park  is a huge crowd puller.
  

EFFORTS BEGIN:

A detail plan for developing the Asok Sagar was submitted to Department of Tourism. Government in December,2001 after making preliminary survey of the area the landscaping was taken up. Beautifully paved paths were laid and flower plants were planted, benches were constructed on the tank bund, lighting of the rocks as well as pavement was taken up. The rocks were spruced up without affecting its natural touch. The swampy area around it was leveled and converted it into parking area and entire area was fenced to give it a new identity. Public amenity centers have been developed. The marshy jungle area has now become a major attraction for many tourists. The rocks abandoned by everybody have now become a place to sit and spend time in the evenings.  The construction of the octagonal shaped "Asok Sagar Restaurant" in the water with glass windowpanes all around to give an elegant view of the lake and the rocks around it has enhanced the beauty of the place without affecting its natural touch. The huge rock boulders are illuminated to give a breath taking beautiful view to the visitors.

The transformation of Jankampet lake from a swampy, "out of bound place" for human beings into a beautiful tourist destination "Asok Sagar" attracting many hundreds of tourists is nothing short of a fairy tale. No wonder that Asok Sagar has featured in the official desk calendar of the Department of Tourism, Government and was the official entry from the state for National Tourism awards under the best eco friendly project  category.
  
The people of Jankampet village is very much interested in development of Asok Sagar as it would bring economic prosperity to the place. A management committee has been formed to oversee the facilities with involvement of local people to make it viable and sustainable. The managing committee is authorized to sub-lease facilities of boating, park and the restaurant. The income generated would be used for pay the electricity charges as well as for maintenance. Local youth have been formed into a group to manage the boating facility.

As a connecting place to Basar and Maharastra large number of people are passing through this route. Pilgrims to Basar from various places are now spending a lot of  time for recreation activities here. People come to have lunch in the shade of the trees enjoying their free time “on the rocks” is a usual scene.

The eco-friendly nature of the area and the natural settings of the rock enhanced by the beautiful illumination has helped the transformation of Asok Sagar into a beautiful tourist destination. The sustainability and viability of the project is by the active involvement of local youth and elected representatives of the village in the management group. The project has a bright future it is on the way to famous Saraswathi Temple at Basar from Hyderabad.

Sarangpur Hanuman Temple

Sarangapur is temple is located (7) K.Ms. from North-East of Nizamabad town abating Alisagar. There is a Hanuman temple located on a hill top. These temple is constructed by Ramdas. This temple as 1400 acres of land. There is a tremendous scope for develop site on hillock along with Alisagar Project. (10) acres of land on Hillock is being developed into a garden. Thereis (33) acres of land available near Sarangapur that can be developed into Eco-tourism by providing slab trails for walking

Ali Sagar Reservoir Nizamabad

 Alisagar Reservoir is situated at a distance of 13Km from Nizamabad which is another important picnic spot, close to Nizamabad. A beautiful garden raised here attract picnickers from Nizamabad.

Nizamabad Fort was developed on an original temple of Ram Mandir constructed by Raghunath Das, who had also constructed a big tank which, is the main water source for Nizamabad town till today. Later the temple was developed into a fort.

Alisagar is the beautiful garden developed by Nizam of Hyderabad. This is under the control of Irrigation Department as the Garden is under the bund of Alisagar Tank maintained by Irrigation Department. The Garden is in (33) acres with fountains and has lot of flowers, Deer Park, Tree House. The Garden is very poorly maintained due to insufficient funds and non-availability of technical no-how in garden maintenance. There is an island inside the Alisagar lake. Boating facility in the tank has been introduced recently. About 1000 to 2000 people visit the Alisagar garden on Sundays. Alisagar is situated about (10) K.Ms. away from the Nizamabad town and (2) K.Ms. from Nizamabad-Basar route.