Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is a masonry dam across the Krishna River at Nagarjuna Sagar which straddles the border between Nalgonda district in Telangana and Palnadu district in Andhra Pradesh. The dam provides irrigation water to the Nalgonda, Suryapet, Krishna, NTR, Bapatla, Eluru, Palnadu, Khammam, West Godavari, Guntur, and Prakasam districts along with electricity generation. Constructed between 1955 and 1967, the dam created a water reservoir with gross storage capacity of , its effective capacity is 6.92 cubic kms or 244.41 Tmcft. The dam is tall from its deepest foundation and long with 26 flood gates which are wide and tall. It is jointly operated by Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Nagarjuna Sagar Dam was the earliest in a series of large infrastructure projects termed as "modern temples" initiated for achieving the Green Revolution in India. It is also one of the earliest multi-purpose irrigation and hydroelectric projects in India. History The Nizam made the British engineers begin the survey work for this dam across the Krishna River in the year 1903. The project's construction was officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on 10 December 1955 and proceeded for the next twelve years. Raja Vasireddy Ramagopala Krishna Maheswara Prasad, popularly known as late Muktyala Raja, was instrumental in the construction of the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam through active political lobbying and the donation of one hundred and ten million GBP in 1952 and fifty-five thousand acres of land. It was the tallest masonry dam in the world at that time, built entirely with local know-how under the engineering leadership of Kanuri Lakshmana Rao. The reservoir water was released into the left and right bank canals by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on 4 August 1967. Construction of the hydroelectric power plant followed, with power generation increasing between 1978 and 1985 as additional units came into service. In 2015, diamond jubilee celebrations of project's inauguration were held, alluding to the prosperity the dam has ushered into the region. The construction of the dam submerged an ancient Buddhist settlement, Nagarjunakonda, which was the capital of the Ikshvaku dynasty in the 1st and 2nd centuries and the successors of the Satavahanas in the Eastern Deccan. Excavations there yielded 30 Buddhist monasteries as well as artwork and inscriptions of historical importance. Prior to the reservoir's flooding, monuments were dug up and relocated. Some were moved to Nagarjunakonda, now an island in the middle of the reservoir. Others