Once the major source of piped water supply to the city, Mir Alam Tank or Mir Sagar, as it is sometimes called, is a haunt of picnickers. It lies on one side of the Nehru Zoological Park, (unique for housing animals in natural habitats) and is an ingenious piece of engineering skill.

The mile- long bund with 21 granite arches earned for it the sobriquet of “Queen’s Necklace”. Mir Alam Khan Bahadur, Mir Alam who was the great- grandfather of Salar Jung I, Prime Minister of Hyderabad (1804-1808) commissioned the army to build it from the handsome reward he received from the Nizam for winning the fourth Mysore War against Tipu Sultan in 1799.

It was built under the supervision of Henry Russell of Royal Engineers, Madras Regiment. Construction started on 25th July, 1804 and was completed on 8th June, 1806. The watersheet is not as wide as in the past and is no longer part of the city’s water supply system.

But its inscription on Mir Alan) tank bund location, skirting the Zoo,makes Mir Alam Tank a popular picnic spot. An inscription in Persian on the tank bund reads: “(In the name of God it flows and thank God it glides along, 1221 A.H.).”