Manjira water is something we started hearing from the day
we started looking for an apartment to stay. So this weekend, we decided to unravel
the mystery of it by tracing its way back to the source, which took us
to the Manjira Reservoir, around 40km from BHEL, Hyderabad. It is also declared as a national wildlife reserve
with a lot of water bird population, if you are an avid bird watcher.
We left at around 10am, packing lunch and water (there is no
hope of getting anything near the reservoir, unless one know families that live
nearby). We reached the town of Sangareddy in 30 minutes, and from there; took a
left towards the police camp and drove straight for another 25 minutes to reach
the reservoir. There are guiding signboards on the way (with pictures of
migratory birds that promise you of great photo opportunities).
On reaching the place, instantly one knows that this is much
smaller than the regular wildlife reserve that one is used to. One needs to
park your 4-wheeler outside the gates (unless you can talk you way through the
2 guards at the gate). We parked outside and walked in. Once inside there are majorly three activities you could do
- Watch the mugger crocs
- Boat ride on the reservoir to watch birds
- Understand the filtering process of Manjira water
and meet the folks who manage it
We could do activities #1 and #3 mentioned above. Couldn’t do the boat ride (prime reason for
going there) as the water level was too low for boating and hence had to be
satisfied with having a look at the dam and an almost empty reservoir. When
asked why the level was low even after ample (to my mind) rainfall, they told me that the Singur Dam upstream holds
all the water and releases on a need basis to Manjira. We need more rainfall if
Singur needs to open its gates.
The best time to go there is between October and May, which
is also when migratory birds come and make Manjira reservoir their
home for a while. This offers ample opportunities for bird lovers to watch and
shoot (with lens) them. The wildlife office near the dam provides you with
information on what to do there. They also provide you a small reference book
to identify the birds you would find there and also a library with books on
migratory birds, if you wish to refer further!!! The office also holds models
of birds and their role in the echo system, which one can explain to kids.
However, taking a walk in the woods will provide you a chance to sight a lot of
birds that are common in urban areas. We could count the voices of 4 distinct
birds at a time and could identify Sparrow and Crow Pheasant. Also heard what sounded like a Hornbill (?).
Just behind the wildlife office is the breeding ground for
mugger crocs, where you can see the mugger crocodiles and their younger ones basking
in soft sunlight, and at times fighting over spots for sunbathing. We were the
only ones there so had a lot of fun watching the crocs.
We then proceeded to the dam and saw the sorry state of
affairs with the water level, took some pictures there. Looking at the water my
son commented “Is this the water we drink?” which gave me the perfect excuse to
take him to the filtering unit nearby and show him the water purification process.
The water from the reservoir is routed to the treatment
plant nearby, where the water is filtered and purified to make it good for
consumption. The engineer was not around, but the man in charge on that day Mr.
Mohamed Sheriff was kind enough to explain the operation of the plant to us,
provided we did not take any pictures of the facility. He took us around and
explained the functioning of the plant that included:
- Chemical treatment: Addition of Alum (to form
clumps out of dissolved impurities) and Chlorine (to kill microbes)
- Filtering: 4 layers of sand, gravel, stones
etc.
Once treated, the water is pumped to Patancheru and from
there routed to various other parts of the city like Lingampalli, and other
places where the water department has pumping stations.
After that lesson, we decided to leave the place, planning to comeback during the winter, to match with the itinerary of the migratory birds...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0VKIaOlCbfIIrWzFWuRnM_MQ-iJckmgUd8dW5uL8thiY_uZSn9AyU_StvdYVN5iCAk-G_AIsFgbGRUs7j3Nq8v2zX2JXkq7EyQ4q77EPje908DRhEmKT5ETERqsYYO_EdizO6NpskL2M/s320/DSC_0005.JPG) |
On the way |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEulBdXCV2FkD3wsdBQlesfyDhH3DPYOe0l1J66n6JI_5Mnc2vKolAjMKeSCge4cPS1GT37vI6vtqQBaFFTCx_-7sh2sQa9lGMt4cIzRP0VeqtOKdtpnpyRhzl2myLGDBcf_9hFh8U3J0/s320/DSC_0006.JPG) |
Green fields |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKCmz6vsPtUs8l9h-i3teEq8PkPZqHdEUV5uYR8u7owblfPE4wKs1eX2aInnrlBHVK6Ev4fqRVogObKkXlYXZc8rM7xUj52vt_HBgPr3xtBUrc1GrwMaS3Gp1cr7bc_M558bUcKJ91QyM/s320/DSC_0094.JPG) |
Way to the wildlife office |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYHu6PUiw9JUTZppmuHB4L2vZxPxms3BTxsQgec_7CqD8_QJ9oG9TqlK44cwB9DSnXOFOf3nlkZIzPwbdhBHaY_gSzTCwPmMU1FRxjZs2EmVN_SnYj48wH9yDPMyhBT2Hg6TD5J1W61Gk/s320/DSC_0033.JPG) |
New boats for the next season |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxkF5RkwB9Yi5KgOhxSfmtvrPsXAOGDRBbk84-A7ZdcEiwDAPrF-ysto0FM7omQN4H8j9IeAjhhGtIjKs58X-llJxhwYN4GLQ9QHJ0K3mpJZgMunVEqv-wQjBsmuowIjjDCtCtJPPzefw/s320/DSC_0086.JPG) |
Not much of a Sanctuary now |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn4Osl7SMZJMVmzYxJmI3tJ6dEsjRsZQ1I50HY4By2lrFdc6P4RoHOa8znBLtOD1AKjGxLG6yjVjA0fuO_NUUoGLvC55e0RQv7G5e6r7CRlKv8-YxLjTtSyLdYCmVx4xSEnCn0ssWa5CE/s320/DSC_0038.JPG) |
Fighting for the Sun |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA8-iNHWCvjyuSoVxzVrCjW4K3fRWsfCrDm_aTK5TqGmaPxJ6UafbM3UqrSMJk-JI7VqsUYZEZC5VQjnOev1h4XM8jJgE9jIq_plxCPOwgU-1um3Hu9-UY8ly8H1Vc5_gCgDSQfLNwEgg/s320/DSC_0039.JPG) |
Angry Crocs |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTQTLFThRxOnQ7EoywpCwhX4ipb81p4pF1euxcB7qo33DQFJMVj8lgiSs30RlrVLNhC8ll6BhqSOCrSNRQy1MmGD-pvmZ9r0XyXJCnGAlJnwo5PsmnRzBehGcWyLJF5sh8IwjI6EyXtQ8/s320/DSC_0054.JPG) |
Some Specs |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6QOPP7qv2IjPhmQuDxDAQJ8Q26bdmOavdqgvqI9M0x3wXfDr3UEngrtgTZnusOgDK8CWUfAdIO81TfaILWNkYCbTUVBmAWJDLLZkczqptxo48K0mmUJCgEpeHhqOuczmHXnb8x-VBGOg/s320/DSC_0069.JPG) |
Way to the barrage |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI5MAoAZQtJ6zSduYjCApJwDrg87t4dB0ntDCBjbCiLOiUvcgV4bmaFoucLU0eF6WKC19fVyfd7_AH-K5TuN6RPgidPk1on0TUJ_M3Kdc2ajEP0NTfpr79Tg4WtsBxiO_sYQ3fqTm2SCc/s320/DSC_0074.JPG) |
A very old ride! |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRyIwzAa44-2uZERPcMLzj_Nx9XyOy6gCuD6yV3QtHfoa3p-C6tJet62YyOh8kCB8gsfQ3UnFK29WvyGlNsWA60T-qivgQFFqSCvVLOfOxRsUioy7TdwR6mYRbZ3cf_uxuxS8bv-WBilM/s320/DSC_0077.JPG) |
Sorry state for boating |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja-0nPqZeuHUu9lGlb_Sdvr2ZFeD8xK2BvnSvKrvzYhtxRpVrRaoAy8-CMi23ZK6h1qnm8F0xMS0tNNRVCME_6-Mt4NHtCKi3tJ69xSZIlakjI6LOYlFeAeKbsrd-Uu2mHyxCDIcLeKrI/s320/DSC_0078.JPG) |
The Barrage |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj59vLdpCCQRklm4QwU7Rsd69AfwZ-ExVYF4-iK4dkSpx2OXtkf3l7QBCdgClV70aA16OQCrxPcbGU8_cIn7FsDFegTfRXwQh_xJ5JMutafHb6q2R3FTr8gvhTdv-p6eiHXVqSODOhk910/s320/DSC_0079.JPG) |
Boats |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxRyzwrwnct40ae8k7se8_VSH6UsAOJIAhxv7UZWCVK0CapWskFdx5obXjfPHbALEj5bHOCTCdEyd2p-SBzq8JQXAUsr7vtgM7sQpcayttxLKSk5HQZKqQNZyaOv7Ty5yPp-gN2g6vCQo/s320/DSC_0081.JPG) |
The Barrage |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVoDF4ajaVmCTKP4vVf9dUlLv_jSovn7EHVad07Rp7T7YvNdad_R6VzfA5qXj-NpJvDIIl4Jc0IYCIGMcOFxQlC4FwciCvfM6b121lAz6n6EjkwkMgYnJybnSVpBEsOwj2qT0YbpvIb80/s320/DSC_0088.JPG) |
Some urban birds |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYRzoteEJwYge9wXVrJb6hj67VuC0s8v-mZHl_w6ngik6kGhPq9163EWayHaUgVqik_pdxP4CrHrvfvPS-vtFl-CdmDbegg-CLBPdowMioPjaOaoRHsjuOpJxRmewtcN7Rp9MklkTIYDU/s320/DSC_0090.JPG) |
Mr. Sheriff who was kind enough to explain the operations to us |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr956mPjxk_kYdMuZQDk_ugGQcVhP_Iqwtc903khsCYgBIp2a5RzFYCS2xWxdoGbYC14iSFzq8j5v2_CDIm9o5ITb5aP5z-um_ouIMjh_ikZS2u4NQhSG9o_PfkJOs8OPVYBwOV4RswT4/s320/DSC_0092.JPG) |
The treatment plant from outside |
Nothing more to add. Rumman at his best briefing of his experience at bird sanctuary. Hopefully, next time around you have more visitors.
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