Places to visit in Mancherial District

Mancherial District has been carved out of erstwhile Adilabad District. It is surrounded by Asifabad (KomaramBheem), Adilabad, Nirmal, Jagtial, Peddapalli, Bhoopalpally districts and the Maharashtra state. The district is spread across an area of 4,056.36 square kilometers and according to the 2011 Census of India, this district has a population of 807,037.

The district comprises of 18 mandals and two revenue divisions. Mancherial is well-connected through roadways and railways. Mancherial is one of the ‘A’ category stations of Secunderabad division while Bellampalli is also a major railway station in the region. The SH1, NH63 and Nagpur highway, run through the district, making the entire region well-linked.

Gandhari Khilla

Gandhari Khilla (Gandhari Kota) is a hill fort located near Bokkalagutta, in Mandamarri Mandal in Mancherial district in the south Indian state of Telangana.

It is located on the sand rock hills. The fort was built within a thickly forested area which has a wealth of plant species which includes many medicinal herbs. The fort has not been fully excavated and is still partially covered by forest.

Mahankali Jatara (quarry jatara) is conducted every year which attracts more than 10,000 people. Gandhari maisamma jatra is done in the temple on the fort of Gandhari for every 2 years and tribal people from Vindhya region i.e maharastra, Chattisghad on the other bankside joins it. The Mancherial – Bellampalli highway passes close to the fort, which is 3 kilometres away from the Bokkalaguttta village. Gandhari Maisamma temple is located at the fort.

Sri Satyanarayana Swamy Temple

Sri Satyanarayana Swamy Temple Gudem Gutta is a popular temple place in the Mancherial District in the northern Telangana India. It has the famous ‘Sri Satyanarayana Swamy Temple’. Lots of pilgrims visit this place during ‘Karthika Masam’ to have a holy dip in Godavari river and perform “Satyanarayana Vratam/Puja”. It located less than 40 kms from Mancherial District.

Kawal Tiger Reserve

Kawal Tiger Reserve is located at Jannaram mandal of Mancherial District  in Telangana state of India.Govt of India declared Kawal wildlife sanctuary as Tiger Reserve in 2012. The Oldest Sanctuary in the northern telangana region of the state.This is well known for its abudant flora and fauna. This sancturay is catchment for the river godavari and kadam that flows towards the south of sancturay.

Mancherial district is situated between 77º46 and 80º0′of the eastern longitudes and 18º40 and 19º56 of northern latitudes. It is surrounded byYavotmal and Chandrapur on the north,Karimnagar and Nizamabad on the south and Nanded district on the west. The KWS was established in 1965 and later declared as the Protected Area (PA) in 1999 under the WPA, 1972. It extended from the sahyadri hillranges to the Tadoba forest in Maharashtra (GoAP2012; Rajagopal 1976). It is spread over an area of 893 km2. It is increasingly getting threatened by growing human encroachments, rampant poaching, illegal wood felling and habitat loss. The sanctuary is one of the richest Teak forests in the State with dense pristine areas free of human disturbance. The River Kadam flows through this area. Dry Deciduous Teak Forests mixed with Bamboo, Terminalia, Pterocarpus, Anogeisus and Cassias.

Mammal species that have been sighted include tiger, leopard, gaur, cheetal, sambar, nilgai, barking deer, chowsingha, sloth bear. Several species of birds & reptiles are also found in the sanctuary.

Accessible from Mancherial 50 kilometres (31 min)and from Hyderabad 270 kilometres by road

Sivaram Wildlife Sanctuary

Sivaram Wildlife Sanctuary, the size of which is only 36.29 sq. kms. This Sanctuary is known for the fresh water crocodiles. In 1987, this forest area was initiated as a Sanctuary for crocodiles. Situated on the banks of River Godavari, this place is their natural habitat. This wild life sanctuary is a haven for nature lovers and nature photographers. The eco system in this Sanctuary is able to sustain various biotic communities and as a result visitors from the world over come to visit the place.

Apart from crocodiles, this wild life sanctuary has a rich collection of flora and fauna. Teak, Bamboo, Timan, Gumpena, Kodsha, thorny shrubs and other deciduous vegetation are found here. Animals like the sloth bear, tiger, panther, cheetal, sambar, nilgai, black bucks, monkeys like the langur and the rhesus monkey and reptiles such as pythons make this their habitat.

The Sanctuary has various species of crocodiles among which the fresh water variety, the Mugger crocodile, the name derived from the Mugger Fish, usually seen in the Indo – Gangetic plain are seen basking in the sun. Unlike their salt water counterparts, these Mugger crocodiles can crawl on land for long distances. It is also home for the Marsh crocodiles.

Apart from the animals, Sivaram Wild life Sanctuary is a beautiful place with the ever green terrains and the picturesque scenery.

Godavari River

Godavari enters into Telangana in Nirmal district at Basara. The river flows along the border between Nirmal and Mancherial districts in the north and Nizamabad, Jagityal, Peddapalli districts to its south. About 12 km (7.5 mi) after entering Telangana it merges with the back waters of the Sriram Sagar Dam. The river after emerging through the dam gates, enjoys a wide river bed, often splitting to encase sandy islands. The river receives a minor but significant tributary Kadam river. It then emerges at its eastern side to act as state border with Maharashtra only to later enter into Bhadradri Kothagudem district. In this district the river flows through an important Hindu pilgrimage town – Bhadrachalam.

The river further swells after receiving a minor tributary Kinnerasani River and exits into Andhra Pradesh.

Sripada Yellampalli project

Sripada Yellampalli project is an irrigation project located at Yellampalli Village, Ramagundam Rural Mandal, between Peddapalli district and  Mancherial District in Telangana State. The project is fourth largest on the Godavari River in Telangana region. It is named after late legislator,D. Sripada Rao Sripada Yellampalli project from Mancherial district 10kms distance.

The Singareni Thermal Power Plant

The Singareni Thermal Power Plant is located at Pegadapalli Village, Jaipur Mandal, Mancherial District in Telangana state. It has an installed capacity of 1200 MW (2×600 MW) and is operated by the Singareni Collieries Company.

Singareni is a coal-based government company, which was established in 1920 under the Hyderabad Companies Act as a public limited company with the name Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL). The company is jointly owned by the Telangana Government (51%) and the Union Government (49%). It is named after a village called Singareni in the Bhadradri Kothagudem district (Old Khammam District), in the Telangana State, where the coal mines were first identified. The SCCL coal mines cover the Bhadradri Kothagudem district, Khammam district, Jayashankar Bhupalapally district, Peddapalli District and the Mancherial District; a total of 5 districts of the state of Telangana. It is currently operating 16 open-pit mines and 32 underground mines.

Despite the SCCL’s experience in coal mining, it decided to enter into the power sector for the benefit of the company and to contribute to the new Bangaru Telangana initiative. It is the first PSU among Indian Coal PSUs to enter the power industry in a large scale i.e.,1200MW. SCCL started its power project on November 11th, 2011 at Jaipur Mandal, Mancherial District.

The SCCL Coal based Thermal Power Plant (2 X 600MW) project was given to the consultancy wing of NTPC limited to take up the project for erection and commissioning. The BTG (Boiler Turbine Generator) Package was given to M/s Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Bhopal and the BOP (Balance of Plant) package was given to M/s McNally Bharat Engineering Company Limited, Kolkata. The SCCL used railway slides, water reservoirs, and townships. Here the package includes the Supply, Civil, Erection, and Commissioning works.

The Unit-1 Synchronised with coal firing was done on 13th March 2016 and of Unit-2 on 1st September 2016. The stage-I power project of 2 units was completed in 2016 with Unit-1 COD (Commercial Operation Date) on 25th September 2016 and Unit-2 COD on 2nd December 2016. SCCL is expecting one more 600MW unit in stage-II in near future.

The Power Project (2 X 600 MW) is dedicated to the nation by the Honorable Prime Minister of India Shri. Narendra Modi on the 7th August 2016, with the presence of the Chief Minister of Telangana state Shri. K. Chandrashekar Rao, Union Ministers Shri. M Venkaiah Naidu and Shri Bandaru Dattatreya, and Shri. N. Sridhar IAS (C&MD of SCCL).

Source: Mancherial Tourism