Amberpet Farming community home is Now a busy suburb

Amberpet is one of the oldest suburbs of the city. It lies adjacent to the famous Osmania University, and stretches from Kacheguda to Ramanthapur in the east and from Vidyanagar to Azad Nagar in the south. Located in the central zone of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits, it is well-connected by road to other parts of the State. The Hyderabad-Warangal highway passes through this area.

DD Colony, Bagh-Amberpet, Sreenivasa Nagar and Tulasinagar Colony are some of the prominent colonies lining the main road leading to Warangal. Once a sub-urban area, it has now turned into a busy trade centre and a hub for educational institutes. Major landmarks here are Guruvayur Sri Krishna Mandir, Ayyappa Temple (estd 1979), Mahankali temple (which is nearly 100 years old), Sri Ramana Theatre (estd 1980), Sufi Hazrat Amber Baba Dargah (18th century), Gandhi Statue Junction, MCH Ground, Central Police Lines Ground (estd during the Nizam period), Police Training College (estd 1911), Zinda Tilismath Karkhana (estd 1920), Golnaka Kamela (slaughter house), Amberpet burial ground, etc.

The Che Number Junction which leads to six different routes, viz. Kacheguda, Shivam Road, Zinda Tilismath Road, Kadhir Bagh, Amberpet and Golnaka compound area, is very famous. Amberpet is 5 km away from the Secunderabad Railway Station and 25 km at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. The closest railway station is 2 km away at Kacheguda. The Imliban bus stand is 4 km away and Jubilee Bus Stand is at a distance of 7 km.

History

Amberpet was established on the banks of northern side of River Musi in the 18th Century as a home to the farming community. The place might have also derived its name from the Urdu word ‘amber’ which means sky. The word is also mentioned in the Arabic scriptures, with its meaning attributed to ‘ambergis’, meaning perfume of heavens.

The area lent its name to the famous Sufi Saint Hazrat Amber Baba, who is said to have been an adviser to Mughal Emperor Aurangazeb. The Dargah of Hazrat Amber Baba, which is located on the main road, draws crowds from all over the place during the annual Urs. Many believe that this place, once barren, was miraculously propagated and populated into dense forests, fruit-growing fields, after Amber Baba made this place his final destination. Now these have been replaced by many supermarkets and dairy and poultry establishments.

Amberpet is home to one of the largest mosques in the city i.e. Jama Masjid. Under the leadership of Syed Chand Patel, this mosque was expanded that can accommodate more than 1,000 worshipers. Osmania Public School was constructed adjacent to the mosque.

Golnaka is a police station that has been in existence since the Nizam era. ‘Gol’ means round and ‘naka’ means police station. As the roof top of the police station is round, it became popularly known as Golnaka. However, the building has been abandoned. A burz located near Mahankali Temple Lane was a tax collection centre during the Nizam period. It remains well-maintained.

Problems

Naryana Reddy, manager of Sri Ramana Theatre, said, “In 1970 the area was covered with copses and trees, and people were often subject to thievery. In the 80s development began in a phased manner and now it is one of the busiest centres in the city. The Warangal highway is always busy and traffic jams are very common. A number of accidents have been witnessed on the road. There was a proposal for construction of a flyover from Doordarshan TV station at Ramanthapur to Golnaka to ease traffic in 2008 when YS Rajasekhar Reddy was chief minister.

Nothing has been done till date.” Several locals fear that a partially constructed structure near the Mahatma Gandhi Statue at the market junction has become haunted. It has turned into a den for antisocial elements. Illicit arrack and liquor are being sold and it has become a nightmare for women to pass through. The surroundings of the Mahatma Gandhi Statue have become a dumping yard. Animal carcasses are left to rot and the resulting smell is obnoxious. They appealed to the GHMC authorities to fix the problem.

By:Ch Saibaba