Narratives of Change: The Musi River in Hyderabad
Any river’s history is intertwined with her people. But there tends to be a dominant single narrative of the city, its river and people. Hyderabad’s Musi river has a similar story. But what stories do people tell when they talk about the river they grew up with all their life? How do they talk about the change she has gone through? We are in times and need of multiple narratives to understand our urban rivers.
Hyderabad, Telangana
The past and its legacy
Photograph of Pen-and-ink and wash drawing of a bridge over the River Musi at Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh, dated c.1830 by Artist Taylor Philip Meadows. (Taylor)
See how the speckled sky burns like a pigeon’s throat,
Jeweled with embers of opal and peridote.
See the white river that flashes and scintillates,
Curved like a tusk from the mouth of the city-gates.
Hark, from the minaret, how the muezzin’s call
Floats like a battle-flag over the city wall.
From trellised balconies, languid and luminous
Faces gleam, veiled in a splendor voluminous.
Poem by the Nightingale of India - Sarojini Naidu : “Nightfall in the city of Hyderabad”. She describes River Musi as a “White river that flashes and scintillates”.
Leisurely elephants wind through the winding lanes,
Swinging their silver bells hung from their silver chains.
Round the high Char Minar sounds of gay cavalcades
Blend with the music of cymbals and serenades.
Over the city bridge Night comes majestical,
Borne like a queen to a sumptuous festival.
Poem by the Nightingale of India - Sarojini Naidu : “Nightfall in the city of Hyderabad”. She describes River Musi as a “White river that flashes and scintillates”.
The past and its legacy
Photograph of the River Musi near Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh photographed by Deen Dayal in the 1880s. Sourced online from the British Library. (Dayal, Musi River view, Hyderabad 1880)
Hyderabad was built on the banks of the River Musi, Moosa or Muchukunda as it is called. The Musi River starts at the Ananthagiri Hills in Vikarabad, on the outskirts of Hyderabad. Musi enters the Hyderabad city and divides the historic Old City from the new city. River Esi, a tributary of the river Musi meets the river in the city which is also referred to as “Sangam” (confluence). It is at this place that Bapu Ghat was built which is the state memorial for Mahatma Gandhi.
The Musi River is a major tributary of the Krishna River in the Deccan Plateau, flowing through Telangana, India. The river flows into Himayat Sagar and Osman Sagar, which are artificial lakes that act as reservoirs. These reservoirs have been a source of drinking water for the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
Where the Musi begins
Origin of Moosi River at Ananthagiri Hills
River Musi originates at the Ananthagiri Hills in Vikarabad district on the outskirts of Hyderabad about 100 kms away from the city. The river travels from these hills and starts its journey into the Hyderabad city. The famous Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple is situated along the river and has become an important tourist destination. The Ananthagiri hills also have become an important tourist destination for the city dwellers for trekking and visiting the temple.
Mohammed Ghouse who grew up in the village near the hills and is currently a tourist guide talks about his childhood playing in the Ananthagiri Hills and trekking all day long seeing the sight of Musi river. He says, “A lot of things changed for us. A lot of people now come from the city to visit the temple and tourists come to camp in the hills. But I remember this place as a place where I and my friends and family come to spend some time together. Even now, I take my children for a walk along this point.”
Where the Musi begins
“Gutta Jatara” - Annual Fair at the Anantha Padmanabha Swamy temple
The river flows along the Anantha Padmanabha Swamy temple and every year in October-November, the temple has its annual pilgrimage. “Gutta Jatara” literally means the fair on the hill. The local people in the area recollect their memories of travelling to the temple with their families on bullock carts and staying in the forest for a fortnight praying, feasting and spending time with their communities.The hills and the temple also became an important tourist destination as the city of Hyderabad grew.
From this place, the river travels and starts her journey into city of Hyderabad.
Musi river at the start of its journey to Hyderabad city.
Musi in the city!
As the river enters the city, it gets narrower and becomes like a “Nallah” (drain) all through the city.
In the construction of modern-day Hyderabad, Musi has turned into a sewer. The river’s survival is very important for the sustainability of the city. According to a study (Central Pollution Control Board, 2015), Musi was among the most polluted rivers in India. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is monitoring water quality in India under the National Water Quality Monitoring Programme. The water quality data is analysed and monitoring locations exceeding the water quality criteria are identified as polluted locations with respect to risk. Priority levels of a polluted stretch are based on the risk assessment.
As the river enters the city, it gets narrower and becomes like a “Nallah” (drain) all through the city. Unfortunately, sewage flows into the river because of poor wastewater management turning Musi into a drain. According to the First Report of the Monitoring Committee by the National Green Tribunal (NGT,2021)constituted in the year 2018 on the Musi River and as per the classification of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Musi has been categorized as Priority I (BOD > 30 mg/L) of polluted river stretches in the Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts across two monitoring locations.
Moosa Nagar - P8
Moosa Nagar is a neighborhood along the river Musi and the people there are a witness to the change that the river has gone through and the meaning it carries in their lives.
Moosa Nagar
Translation: Told by the citizens of Moosa Nagar recollecting the history of the neighborhood of Moosa Nagar.
“In the 1970s and 1980s, this area was covered with fields. After that, during the period of the then local public representative, Sarojini Pulla Reddy who also previously served as the Mayor of Hyderabad, there were public latrines constructed all around the river.Post that, the community halls and houses came up. And during the local public representative leader Indra Sena Reddy’s tenure, he helped build a dedicated space for the washerfolk community to carry on their traditional occupation of washing clothes. All this was vacant space along the river and houses came up slowly. But the floods and pollution also destroyed everything.”
One of the elders from the Moosa Nagar community Hari Chander, mentioned that in the 1980s during the tenure of Indra Sena Reddy as the MLA, there was a Dhobhi Ghat that was established here. A dhobhi ghat is a place dedicated for the people from the washerfolk community to carry out their traditional occupation of washing clothes. The washerfolk community would establish dedicated spaces along the river in this basti to wash the clothes.
Over the decades, because of the pollution, sewage being mixed with the water, the washer folk community left the place as they were no longer able to wash their clothes in this place. Only one family of the community lives in the basti now.
Moosa Nagar
A picture of the Moosa Nagar neighborhood during the day.
Moosa Nagar
The elders in the Moosa Nagar community remembered witnessing the congregation of hundreds of women from all over the south of Hyderabad during the Bathukamma festivities at this place. Bathukamma is the state festival of Telangana and it is also called the Festival of Flowers. Women from all social groups celebrate the festival arranged with different unique seasonal flowers, most of them with medicinal values. Historically, Bathukamma meant "the festival of life" and was a celebration of the harvest season in the Deccan region. It has also become the marker of the unique regional identity of the people of Telangana.
After arranging the flowers in circular rows, women congregate outside their homes and arrange their bathukammas (flowers) together. They then dance by clapping their hands and circling round the bathukammas. There are special folk songs that are sung by them while they clap and dance. After the celebration, groups of women take their bathukammas to the nearby rivers and tanks and immerse them while praying for a prosperous lives for themselves, their families and communities. (Telangana Government website. Bathukamma, 2023)
Musi as a source of entertainment.
Bathukamma at Moosa Nagar
Translation into English from Telugu: Spoken by Hari Chander, one of the elders of the Moosa Nagar community:
“Right from Chanchalguda (a particular place in Hyderabad) , all the bathukammas (the flower arrangements made by women) are brought to the neighborhood of Moosa Nagar along the river where women dance together during the festival and then leave the bathukammas into the Musi river. All of this has stopped now.”
Moosa Nagar
Moosa Nagar neighborhood along the river Musi.
Batukamma in Moosa Nagar
Click here to listen to Audio 3
Translated into English from Deccani language:
Told by Daulat Bi, one of the women of the Moosa Nagar neighborhood who has witnessed the change in the River Musi.
“When we were young, women from Azampura and Malakpet (two places from Hyderabad) would come here along the river to come and enjoy Bathukamma and leave flowers in the river. It used to be such joy. The nights would feel like day. And it was divine (Mashallah).”
A view of the Musi from the neighborhood. Across the river is the sight of many informal and formal factories.
Bathukamma at Moosa Nagar
Translated into English from Telugu: Spoken by Hari Chander, one of the elders of the Moosa Nagar community recollecting the festivals across the river Musi:
“During the Bathukamma festivities, the youth of our area used to clean up this entire river stretch inside the neighborhood. Because women from outside would come here to play bathukamma. And Men would give chorus to the songs sung by women while they dance. It used to be really nice”
A view of the Musi from the neighborhood of Moosarambagh. These are a few places left where women still congregate and play and dance to celebrate the Bathukamma festival.
Amberpet-Moosarambagh
Dhobi Ghat along the Musi in Moosarambagh area.
One of the Dhobi Ghats in Malakpet along the Musi.
View of Musi River from the Moosarambagh Dhobi Ghat
Musi and the Dhobi Ghat
The Ghat is registered and maintained by “Telangana Rajaka (Dhobi) Development Organization.” Here Rajaka refers to the caste name for the washerfolk community in the Telugu language.
A man from the washerfolk community who uses the Dhobi Ghat shares his memory:
“There are around 56 Dhobi ghats in the city of Hyderabad along the Musi. But now we don’t use the river water anymore. The government helped construct these ghats for our community long back but I am not sure if these will stay in the next ten years. The nearby wastewater, including animal waste from slaughterhouses, domestic and industrial wastewater from nearby factories, all mix here. We remember the Musi river water to be clean once upon a time, but things have changed so much in the past two decades.”
A man from the washerfolk community who uses the Dhobi Ghat shares his memory:
“The nearby wastes - animal waste from slaughter houses and households along with industrial wastes from nearby factories all mix here. We remember the Musi river water to be clean once upon a time and things have changed so much in the past two decades. My children will not be in this profession anymore. But it would be beneficial if the government can help the community with better technologies for improving the functioning of washing clothes which will help young people in this profession. I am not sure if this place will remain for us moving forward. A lot of encroachment is already happening and this open space along the river may just be a dream in the future for our communities.”
The river is not just a separate entity but the communities depend on the river for their survival, needs and livelihoods. Whether it is through celebration, livelihoods, entertainment, leisure or more. To understand this is to understand the river and the life it provides through many forms.
Moving away from the city, River Musi and River Esi both have reservoirs named Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar built across the river respectively.
Both reservoirs were built as a flood mitigation measure for the city along with meeting the drinking water needs of Hyderabad city post the 1908 Musi river floods.
Gandipet/Osman Sagar
Osman Sagar Reservoir was built by the Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan in the 1920. And Himayat Sagar reservoir was built during the reign of the last Nizam of Hyderabad, Nizam VII and is named after his youngest son Himayat Ali Khan in the year 1927.
The Himayat Sagar dam and Osman Sagar reservoirs provided continuous water supply to the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad but they have not been able to meet the drinking water needs of Hyderabad city due to the growing population and urbanization.
“The river is tied and restricted here,” one of the women of the nearby Gandipet village says referring to the Osman Sagar Reservoir. The villagers claim that the local goddess Gandi Maisamma protects this place from the floods. Every Kartheeka Pournima which is an auspicious full moon day of the Kartheeka Magha month according to the Hindu calendar, prayers and rituals are held by people at the Sangam at Bapu Ghat at Langar Houz within the city where the rivers Musi and Esi meet.
The Gandipet Eco Park / Landscape Park
A park was developed by Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) on the banks of Osman Sagar lake, to mark its centenary.
Gandipet Eco Park/ Landscape Park
Musi and its present state.
Gandipet Eco Park/ Landscape Park
A view of the Gandipet Eco or Landscape park across the Musi.
The river and its problems: Waste and pollution
The report from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB, 2015) has listed the Musi River among the most polluted rivers in India. The river has become a site for dumping garbage and industrial waste. As Hyderabad city is home to most of the pharmaceutical companies, it has also become a source of medical waste as most of the companies have been releasing their effluents into the river effectively making the river poisonous and ecologically dead.
Industrial effluents are not being treated well and the scheme of Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETP) has failed. Apart from that, the sewage treatment plants (STP) built in different points along the stretch of the Musi in Hyderabad have not been very efficient in treating sewage with the only one functioning. So there is an immediate need to expand the existing sewage treatment systems to efficiently monitor and implement a better system. The river has also become a major place for dumping construction waste (The Siasat Daily, 2021).
The river and its problems: Waste and pollution
The river and its problems: Waste and pollution across the Old City in Hyderabad.
Photograph of the Musi River (in spate) in Secunderabad, from the Macnabb Collection (Col James Henry Erskine Reid): Album of Indian views, taken in c.1902-03. Sourced from the online British Library. (Moosi River (in flood), Secunderabad, 1902-03)
Musi Floods in 2020 and the destruction in the Hyderabad city. (The Indian Express, 2022)
The Great Musi Flood (Bhowmik, 2020) as it is referred to by many was the flood that occurred on 28 September 1908 in Hyderabad on the banks of the Musi.The flood, also locally known as Thughyani Sitambar, killed almost 15,000 people according to official sources and left many homeless and created huge destruction and loss. The 1908 Musi river floods took place during the time of Mahboob Ali Pasha, the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad. It is post this historic and destructive event, that led to the development of the twin cities in 1908.
The two reservoirs Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar were built in 1920 and 1927 respectively by the then Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan as flood mitigation structures along with being the sources of drinking water for the city post the floods. Due to construction of check dams and other encroachments in their catchment areas along with increasing urbanization of the catchment area, the reservoirs are not being able to fulfill the drinking water needs of the city.
To solve this problem, it is important to protect the catchment areas from urbanization by protecting the place from indiscriminate construction. The Government Order (GO) 111 (Government of Andhra Pradesh, 1996) was issued in the year 1996 to prohibit polluting industries, residential colonies, major hotels and other establishments that generate pollution in the catchment area of the twin reservoirs. The state government has been trying to remove those restrictions which can encourage the urbanization of the catchment areas leading to severe shortage of drinking water.
The 1908 Musi floods are no longer the past of Hyderabad. From the recent 2020 Hyderabad Floods to the ongoing flash floods in the city every monsoon, the urban flood situation needs to be seriously looked at. Hyderabad was built along the Musi and the city was spread over 55-60 sq km during the 1908 floods. Consequently, in 2011, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation had a population of around 7 million according to the census (Census, 2011) and has been increasing ever since .But the water bodies have been decreasing in number with increasing urbanization, and houses being built on wetlands and water-bodies, which has led to a complete change of land-use patterns. There is an urgent need to understand the multiple interconnected factors, including climate change, which are affecting urban floods and have a more nuanced and holistic approach to understanding and managing floods. There needs to be a better flood management policy along with a disaster management plan to take into account the recent continuous urban floods in the city.
Musi Rejunevation Project
The government had proposed the development of Musi’s riverfront for a length of about 55 kms in an eco-friendly manner to ensure an all round development, apart from river rejuvenation (The Hans India, 2018).
Musi and its future: Along its course, the plan is to build a series of bridges that include 14 new heritage-themed bridges across the rivers Musi and Esa (Singh, 2021).
Transforming Hyderabad
Musi and its future envisioned by the State
The recent February 2023 Telangana State Budget was announced for which the government allocated 200 crore for the Musi river front development (Bommakanti, 2023).
Pollution and ineffective sewage treatment
To address the issues of the river, the Telangana Government came up with a special Musi River Development Corporation Limited (MRDCL) with a phased development plan. This plan to clean and beautify the river had multiple goals including setting up of new STP’s in the sewerage master plan. The plan also proposes to focus on infrastructure development along the course of 55 kms of the river within the city.
The report of the Action Plan for Rejuvenation of River Stretches in Telangana by the CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI, 2019) was submitted by CSIR-NEERI in March 2019. The report proposes an action plan and timeline for implementation. The plans include, identification of location for proposed STPs; installation of recharge shafts, water quality sampling after STPs; and flow measurements of all drains. The action plan talks not only about the plan for proposed STPs, but also of the proposal to rejuvenate 13 lakes and also focus on industrial pollution, sewage treatment and disposal plan, ground water quality, flood plain zone and environmental flows.
River Musi continues to live in the lives of the people of Hyderabad. And the policies must recognize this and make an effort to include the communities in framing the relevant policies. This way, the communities lead , participate and own the process to protect the river.
No river is divorced from the local culture and its people. The bureaucratization of the state and policy has a risk of delinking the river from its politics, history, culture and needs of the people. There is a need to understand that the policies have to always be driven and start at the grassroots to succeed in the long term. The state has to also involve local communities and civil society so that there is an emergence of collective governance in solving the problems of the river. It is significant to link the political, historical and social identity of the city and its people within policy solutions for river protection and rejuvenation. There is a need to bring the ecological and social aspects of sustainability at the centre of the planning process.
References :
Bommakanti, U. (2023, February 7). Finally, Rs 200 Crore trickles down to Musi front project. The Times of India. Retrieved 2023, from https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/finally-200-crore-trickles-down-to-musi-front-project/articleshow/97673576.cms
Bhowmik, A. (2020, September 29). Musi Floods: The Deluge that shaped Hyderabad's Destiny. Retrieved 2023, from https://www.peepultree.world/livehistoryindia/story/religious-places-/musi-flood.
Central Pollution Control Board. (2015). (rep.). Polluted River Stretches in India- Criteria and Status.
CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI). (2019). (rep.). Action Plan for Rejuvenation of River Stretches (Priority I and II) in Telangana State. Hyderabad , Telangana.
Dayal, D. (n.d.). Musi River view, Hyderabad. photograph. Retrieved 2023, from https://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/m/019pho0000430s6u00014000.html.
Government of Andhra Pradesh. (1996). (publication). Protection of catchment Areas of Himayatsagar and Osmansagar Lakes
Government of Telangana. Bathukamma(2023). Retrieved 2023 from https://bathukamma.telangana.gov.in/
Government of Telangana. (2021). TRANSFORMING HYDERABAD: MUSI RIVER REVITALIZATION. Hyderabad.
Hussain, M. (2021, February 3)). Clean Musi river only a dream for Hyderabadis? The Siasat Daily. Retrieved 2023, from https://www.siasat.com/clean-musi-river-only-a-dream-for-hyderabadis-2082353/.
Musi still waits for attention. (2018, January 3). The Hans India. Retrieved 2023, from https://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Hyderabad-Tab/2018-01-03/Musi-still-waits-for-attention/349515.
National Green Tribunal. (2021). (rep.). First Report of the monitoring commitee. Retrieved 2023.
Pisharody, R. (2022). Hyderabad: Musi floods a reminder to protect river, restore Go-111 and include locals in development plan. The Indian Express. Retrieved 2023, from https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/hyderabad/hyderabad-rains-musi-river-floods-8063481/.
Poet-photographer, T. (n.d.). “NIGHTFALL IN THE CITY OF HYDERABAD” By Sarojini Naidu [web log]. Retrieved 2023, from https://soundarya.wordpress.com/about/nightfall-in-the-city-of-hyderabad-by-sarojini-naidu/.
Singh, S. B. J. (2021, October 4). Heritage-themed bridges to come up across Musi, Esa rivers in Hyderabad. The New Indian Express. Retrieved February 25, 2023, from https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/hyderabad/2021/oct/04/heritage-themed-bridges-to-come-up-across-musi-esa-rivers-in-hyderabad-2367230.html.
Taylor, P. M. (1830). Bridge over the River Musi, Hyderabad. photograph. Retrieved 2023, from https://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/other/019wdz000000115u00000000.html
Unknown. (n.d.). Moosi River (in flood), Secunderabad, 1902-03. photograph. Retrieved 2023, from https://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/m/019pho0000752s5u00011000.html.
About Shalini | Water Seekers' Fellowship 2022
Shalini is an educator, researcher and a community organizer based in Hyderabad with a background in Sociology. Her work spans across the fields of Education, Gender and Social Movements and Oral History. Her research interests include questions around the intersections of ecology and labour, gender and caste, environmental justice and social movements and urban studies.
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