MAHBUBNAGAR, Telangana

Main Attraction: PRIYDARSHINI JURALA PROJECT

The Joorala Project also called the Jurala or Priyadarshini Jurala Project which is at a distance of 10 km away from Kuravapur village of Mahabubnagar District and 60km away from Mahaboobnagar District Headquarters . It is constructed on the Krishna river. The Kurvapur Kshetra River is merging with water of the Joorala Project. The project was completed in 1995. The Jurala has a full reservoir level of 1045 ft and has a full capacity of 11.94 TMC. The left and right canals of this project are supplying water to thousands of acres of Agriculture lands and also drinking water to many villages and towns. Presently, power is being generated through "Priyadarshini Jurala Hydro Electric Project" with the cooperation of Karnataka state. This is only Hydro Electric Project in the state, which would have water throughout the year.

Brief History

The district of Mahbubnagar came under the sway of the Mauryas during the reign of Asoka. The Mauryan imperialism seems to have exerted considerable influence on the lives of the people of Deccan. It appears to have given them a uniform system of administration based upon the Aryan policy which served as a model for the feature Governments in the South. The Deccan served as a ground wherein the Aryan and non-Aryan languages were used to create a prakrit dialect which obtained wide currency.

Asoka's successors were not powerful enough to maintain their hold over the Deccan, as a result of which, the district has come under the rule of the Satavahanas, which was overthrown during the first quarter of the third century A.D. Later, Vindhyasakti, the founder of the Vakataka dynasty and his son Pravarasena-I brought a large part of the Deccan under their sway. The Vakataka dynasty ruled for two and half centuries after which it disintegrated and the Deccan passed into the hands of Chalukyas of Badami during the reign of Kirthivarman-I. Their rule continued for nearly two centuries except for an interregnum of 13 years from 642 A.D. to 654 A.D. during which period the Pallavas of Kanchi occupied the kingdom.

A major portion of the Chalukya Kindgom including Mahbubnagar passed into the hands of Rashtrakutas whose founder was Dantidurga. Dantidurga came into conflict with his Chalukyan overlord Kirthivarman-II and defeated him in a battle. The district remained under the Rashtrakutas till the end of their rule as is evidenced by the inscriptions of the reigns of Dhruva, Govinda-III and Krishna-III. One of the Rashtrakuta feudatories, Chalukya Taila-II, overthrew Karakka and re-established Chalukyan hegemony over the Deccan .The Kalyani Chalukyas ruled from 973 A.D. to 1200 A.D. The district occupied an important place during this period because the Chalukyas and the Cholas contended for supremacy over this region. The Chola and the Chalukyan forces fought a decisive battle at Maski in the doab resulting in the recognition of Tungabhadra as the boundary between the two kingdoms. The city of Pundur (Gadwal) was sacked by the Chola army and razed to the ground. The Cholas did not, in any way, benefit by these battles. Despite this, the Chalukyan sway extended over the whole of the Deccan between the Vindhyas and the Tungabhadra.

The district appears to have come under the sway of the Kakatiyas during the reign of Prola-II in 1117 A.D. Prola-II was succeeded by his son Rudra who was a valiant warrior. Rudra died in a battle and was succeeded by his younger brother Mahadeva and latter by his son Ganapati. Ganapati's rule became one of the most brilliant epochs in the history of Andhra Desa, towards the end of his reign, Ganapati nominated his daughter Rudramba to rule this district.

Prataparudra ascended to the throne of Warangal after the death of his grandmother Rudramba at the beginning of 1295 A.D. His reign which lasted till 1323 A.D. witnessed several invasions against Kakatiya kingdom by the Delhi Sultans. In 1323, Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq sent his son Ulugh Khan, who later came to be known as Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq and defeated Prataparudra.

Mahbubnagar district was about this time, ruled by a local family known as the Kanduru Telugu Cholas. Inscriptional evidence pertaining to these chiefs is found at several places in Mahbubnagar and Nalgonda districts. The Kakatiya kingdom, which included Mahbubnagar district was placed under the control of Governor Shihab-i-Sultani entitled Nusrat Khan with the capital at Bidar. The Governor had to pay one lakh tankas as tribute annually. There were persistent attempts to establish an independent kingdom in the Deccan which resulted in the creation of the Bahmani kingdom in 1346 A.D.

Eighteen rulers held sway over the Bahmani Kingdom from 1347 to the second quarter of the 16th century. Of them, Alau' dinhasan Bahman Shah, the founder of the Bahmani dynasty was an ambitious king. He concluded a treaty with the ruler of Warangal, Kapaya Nayaka. On the death of Alau'din Bahman Shah in 1358 A.D. the kindgom passed into the hands of his son Muhammad-I. Muhammad-I defeated Kapaya Nayaka twice and forced him to conclude a treaty ceding Golconda to the Bahmanis. Subsequently, Warangal was annexed by Recherla Anapota Nayaka of Rachakonda. The relations between the Recherla Chiefs and Bahmani Sultans were cordial till Feroz Shah ascended the Bahmani throne in 1397 A.D. During the reign of Muhammad-III, Prime Minister Mohammad Gawan, divided the Bahmani kingdom into eight Sarlash-karships or provinces of moderate size under this re-organisation, Telangana was divided in to two charges namely Rajahmundry and Warangal. Mahbubnagar district was a part of Warangal province.

Sultan Quli was made the tarafdar of Telangana in 1496 A.D. He was a great diplomat. He was murdered in 1543 A.D. He was succeeded by his son Jamshid, who was in power for seven years. On his death, his infant son Subhan Quli succeeded to the throne, but this succession was generally unwelcomed. As a result of which Ibrahim Qutub Shah, who was a refugee at the Vijayanagar court was summoned to take over the rule of the kingdom. Ibrahim Qutub Shah seldom attempted to extend his domination beyond the confines of the country where Telugu was spoken by a majority of the population. He loved peace and hated disorder and conspiracy, but the forced cession of Kovilkonda, Panagal and Ghanpura to Ramaraja led him to realise the need to curb the power of Ramaraja led him to realise the need to curb the power of Ramaraja. He defeated Ramaraja and killed him in the battle of Talikota in 1565 A.D.

Ibrahim Qutub Shah died in 1580 A.D. and was succeeded by Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah, who was hardly fourteen at the time of his accession to the throne. He was succeeded by his nephew and son-in-law, Sultan Muhammad, who in turn was succeeded by Abdullah Qutub Shah. Abdullah's reign witnessed the zenith of the territorial extent of Golconda. Despite this, he had to submit to the superior power of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and sign the Deed of submission. During the reign of Abul-Hassan Tana Shah, Aurangazeb invaded the Golconda Fort and occupied it in 1687. Abul Hasan, the last Qutub Shahi Sultan, was captured and sent to Doultabad where he died in 1700 A.D.

When Aurangazeb conquered the Deccan, he found several chiefs called Zamindars holding sway over small areas and paying tribute. This continued till 1724 A.D. when Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah-I gained autonomy in the Deccan. The bigger chiefs were made the lords of Samsthanams, whereas the smaller chiefs were reduced to the position of landlords. The important Samsthanams of the districts were Gadwal,Wanaparthi, Jataprole, Amarachinta, Gopalpet and Alampur. They were all merged with the Indian Union after Independence in 1947.

In 1706 A.D. Prince Kan Baksh was the Subedar of Bijapur and Hyderabad. In the 18th century when Hyderabad state was formed, this district was included in the Nizam's Dominion. Subsequently in the year 1886 the Dominions were divided into four Subas by Sir Salarjung I and each Suba was further divided into districts. This district with its taluks then known as Nagarkurnool district was included in Gulshamabad Suba (Medak). In 1902 this district comprised 10 taluks. Again in 1905 the Ibrahimpatnam taluk of the district was transferred to Medak district and 73 villages from Koilkonda, Narayanpet and Makthal were adjoined to the taluk of Gulbarga district. Narayanpet taluk was then merged with Makthal taluk and Amrabad was re-named as Achampet. On reorganisation of states in the year 1956, Pargi taluk was transferred to Hyderabad. Alampur and Gadwal taluks of Raichur, Kodangal taluk from Gulbarga were transferred to Mahbubnagar District.