Whether
it is summer or winter, the one place that is crowded
with streaming visitors is Osman Sagar, popularly known
as Gandipet. It is a beautiful lake located 20 kms west
of Hyderabad city. This water body was formed as a result
of damming of the river Moosi in 1920 by Mir Osman Ali
Khan. The idea was to supply water to the then Hyderabad.
The lake is spread over an area of 46 square kilometers
and is the main drinking water for the twin cities of
Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
Gandipet is the most sought after picnic spot for Hyderabadis.
It has been developed as a public recreation area with
well laid out lush green gardens and swimming pool.
Throughout the year- weekdays or weekends - Gandipet
beckons holidayers from every nook and corner of the
twin cities. Anyone visiting Gandipet is pleased to
see a vast stretch of placid water that shimmer like
gold with the rays of the morning sun. The breeze is
cool and soothing. Sprawling lawns with colorful flora
and youthful trees towards the lower side of the dam
make the place picturesque. The lake offers boating
facilities to the visitors who look forward to an ideal
joyride.
Most picknickers who come with family and friends to
Gandipet spend a whole day here revelling with food,
playing games and having a lot of entertainment. Usually
people carry delicious special varieties of food to
Gandipet. Aprt from that they also buy snacks and drinks
from the only cafeteria at the place. There are some
visitors who stay overnight at Gandipet not being content
with a whole day's adventure. The Andhra Pradesh Tourism
provides a guest house called "Sagar Mahal"
which was the summer resort of the erstwhile Nizam.
It has about ten double rooms with food arrangement.
Most people also visit Gandipet after the rainy season
when the reservoir is full. In this period swimming
and boat riding are a common sight. Some students from
nearby colleges come to Gandipet for a different purpose.
For ragging! The students bring along their juniors
and have a good interaction. They have fun and at the
same time get to know each other better.
The A.P. Travel and Tourism Development Corporation
has included Gandipet as part of the special sight seeing
tour for tourists visiting the place.
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