Mahabubabad District

Manukota comes from Mranukota. In Telugu the meaning of 'Mranu' is 'tree' and that of 'Kota' is 'fort'. In English it translates as 'fort made of trees'. In earlier days Manukota used to be covered with plenty of trees like a fort. Later it happened to spell as Manukota.

Mahabubabad derived its name from one of its past rulers, Mahabub, who was one of the officials of the Nizam. Before Independence, he once arrived at Manukota where he stayed outside the town in a place which is called Shikarkhana. The name of Manukota by the passage of time, hence changed to Mahabubabad.

Every year on Dussehra festival, the national flag is hoisted in Garla, a unique tradition that has been followed for generations.

Pakhal Lake is a source of irrigation in Khanapur and Narsampet mandals. The lake has rich historical importance and was constructed by Kakatiya King Ganapati Deva in 1213 A.D. The terrain is undulating and hilly. The sanctuary forms partly the catchment for two drainage systems — one draining into the Godavari River through Laknavaram tank and the other joining the Krishna River through the Munneru tributary.

Intended irrigated ayacut: 18,193 acres

Mr Harish Rao unveiled a 45-foot long Mission Kakatiya pylon on the shore of Madhannapet tank. He promised that Narsampet will always have surplus of water as the state government is taking steps to bring Godavari water to Pakhal Lake through Devadula. After initiating the desiltation and beautification works of Madhannapet tank, Mr Rao said that a tank bund will be built on the shore of the tank as part of the beautification work.

Efforts are on to build 12 check dams along Vattivagu, Munneru, Nacharam, Chinna Kommala, and Makdumpur tanks. The state government aims to bring water from the Kaleshwaram project into the SRSP canals. "We will provide water throughout the year once the project is completed at Thupakulagudem."

The Large Tank, Bayyaram was constructed in the 13th century during the Kakatiya Dynasty by Mailamba, sister of Ganapatideva, across the Munneru River near Bayyaram Village and Mandal.

Initially, the ayacut under this source was about 5,400 Acres. Subsequently, after restoration, the farmers have developed their ayacut to an extent of 7,200 Acres. The beneficiaries covered under this project are poor tribals living in Irsulapuram, Pedda Tallasgadda, Cherlapally, Kothapeta, Gandampally, and Bayyaram villages in Bayyaram mandal.

The immense irrigation potential of the historic Bayyaram Cheruvu continues to remain untapped. The accumulation of enormous volume of silt in the tank has drastically reduced its storage capacity, thereby denying assured irrigation facilities to the ayacutdars of nearly 12 villages in Bayyaram and Garla mandals.

The ambitious plan to modernise the 30 km-long canal system of the Bayyaram Cheruvu has been lying in cold storage for quite a long time.