srisailam. Review on Srisailam

Srisailam is town as well as the mandal reputed for the shrine of Lord Mallikarjuna on the flat top of Nallamala Hills. It has played a dominant role in the Hindu religious, cultural and social history since ancient times. The epigraphical evidence reveals that the history of Srisailam began with the Satavahanas who were the first empire builders in South India.

The earliest known historical mention of the hill, Srisailam, can be traced to the King Vasishthiputra Pulumavi's Nasik inscription of 1st Century A.D. Srisailam or Srisailamu is situated in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is on the banks of the Krishna River about 212 km south of Hyderabad and 179 km from Kurnool. It is sometimes spelled Shrishailam.The Sri Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Temple located in Srisailam is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga temples dedicated to Lord Siva. Earlier, it was called Srigiri. The Bhramarambha Temple is also located in the same complex. It is considered as one of the eighteen Shakti Peethas in India.

Bhramarambha is a very ferocious deity. Originally she was worshipped by the Chenchu people. However, during British rule, the temple was taken over by the Pushpagiri peetham forcibly with the help of the British Government ruling the Madras Presidency.The Srisailam Dam is a dam constructed across the Krishna River in the border of Mahabubnagar District, Telangana and Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh in India and is the 3rd largest capacity hydroelectric project in the country.

The dam was constructed in a deep gorge in the Nallamala Hills in between Mahabubnagar and Kurnool districts, 300 m  above sea level. It is 512 m long, 269.748 metres high and has 12 radial crest gates. It has a reservoir of 800 square kilometres . Project has an estimated live capacity to hold 178.74 billion cubic feet. The left bank power station houses 6 × 150 megawatts  reversible Francis-pump turbines  and the right bank contains 7 × 110 megawatts  Francis-turbine generators.The Srisailam project began in 1960, initially as a power project, across the Krishna, near Srisailam. After several delays, the main dam was finally completed twenty years later in 1980 July 26. In the meantime the project was converted into a multipurpose facility with a generating capacity of 770 megawatts (1, 030, 000 hp) by its second stage which was expected to be completed in 1987. The dam is to provide water for an estimated 2, 000 square kilometres (770 sq mi) with its catchment area of 206, 040 square kilometres (79, 550 sq mi) and water spread of 1, 595 square kilometres (616 sq mi).

Under the right branch canal 790 square kilometres (310 sq mi) in Kurnool and Kadapa districts will have assured irrigation. From the initial modest estimate of ?384.7 million for a power project the total cost of the multipurpose project was estimated to cross ?10 billion in its enlarged form. The 269.748 metres (885.00 ft) high and 512 metres (1, 680 ft) wide dam has alone cost ?4.04 billion together with the installation of four generating sets of110 MW each. The right branch canal is estimated to cost ?4.49 billion and the initial investment of ?1.4 billion has been provided by the World Bank. The projected cost-benefit ratio of the project has been worked out at 1:1.91 at 10% interest on capital outlay. On 2 October 2009, Srisailam dam experienced a record inflow which threatened the dam. At present the initial inflows into Srisailam reservoir are stored excessively without using for power generation.The flood water fills the remaining empty Srisailam reservoir quickly and most of the flood water overflows into downstream Nagarjunasagar reservoir without being used for power generation. The endeavor shall be to fill the Nagarjunasagar reservoir fully with the uniform water released through the power generating units.