Nagarjuna Sagar Dam
Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, built across the mighty Krishna River, is one of India’s earliest and most iconic multi-purpose river valley projects. Straddling the border between Nalgonda district in Telangana and Palnadu district in Andhra Pradesh, it stands as the largest masonry dam in the world, constructed entirely out of stone blocks rather than poured concrete.
​🌊 Historical & Engineering Background
​The dam represents a monumental feat of post-independence Indian engineering, championed by India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who famously termed such large-scale projects the “temples of modern India.”
​Chronology of Construction
​December 1955: Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru officially laid the foundation stone for the project.
​1967: The project reached functional completion, and the first irrigation water was released into its main canals by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
​Power Generation: The hydro-electric power generation facilities were fully commissioned in subsequent stages through the late 1970s and early 1980s.