Nagarjuna Sagar Dam

About Nagarjuna Sagar Dam

• It is built between the Nalgonda district of Telangana and the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh.
• It is built across the River Krishna.
• It is the largest and highest masonry dam in the world.
• The dam is 150m tall and 1.6 km long.
• The dam has a storage capacity of nearly 11,472 million cubic meters and an irrigation capacity of 9.81 lack acres of land. 
• It derives its name from a nearby hillock and island called Nagarjunakonda, where an ancient Buddhist Guru had once lived. 
• It is also one of the earliest projects built in post-independence India for irrigation and hydroelectricity generation.
• The construction of the dam commenced in 1956 and was completed by 1967. 
• This dam supports the national grid with its electric power and provides irrigation water to five districts, including Khamman District, Nalgonda District, Guntur District, Prakasam District and Krishna District.
• As per the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, Nagarjunasagar dam is controlled and supervised by Telangana.

Key Facts about Krishna River

• It is a river in south-central India.
• Origin: It rises in western Maharashtra state in the Western Ghats range near the town of Mahabaleshwar.
• In terms of water inflows and river basin, Krishna is the fourth biggest river after Ganga, Godavari, and Brahmaputra. 
• Total Length: 1300 km 
• Course: It passes through Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and meets the Bay of Bengal at Hamasaladeevi in Andhra Pradesh, on the east coast.
• The Krishna River Basin extends over an area of about 258,948 sq. km, which is nearly 8 percent of the total geographical area of the country. 
• Tributaries:
  • The most important tributary is the Tungabhadra River. It has been formed by the Tunga River and the Bhadra River, which originate in the Western Ghats.
  • Other tributaries include the Koyna River, Bhima River, Kundali River, Malaprabha River, Ghataprabha, Yerla River, Warana River, Dindi River, Musi River, and Dudhganga River.

Q1) What is the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014?

The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 provides for bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh into the successor states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Among other things, it addresses the representation of the states in Parliament, separate Legislative Assemblies and Legislative Councils for both states, role of the Governor, revenue distribution, distribution of cash and credit balances, management and development of water resources, and creation of separate cadres for administrative, police and forest services.

Source: In midnight operation before Telangana polls, Andhra Pradesh takes over half of dam