Nizam-era Gowliguda bus hangar collapses

​Hyderabad: The old Central Bus Station (CBS) also known as Mississippi hangar at Gowliguda collapsed in the wee hours of Thursday. There were no casualties as the authorities had closed down the bus station five days ago keeping in mind the its dilapidated state.

According to locals, around 7 am and 7.30 am the structure collapsed with a huge thud. The Transport Principal Secretary and in-charge MD of TSRTC Sunil Sharma was scheduled to visit the site on Thursday morning. However, the shed collapsed before his arrival at the spot.  The Mississippi Aircraft Hangar was a unique structure which was imported from USA. It was constructed by Butler and Co in 1930. 

It is said to be the first pre-fabricated structure to be installed in Hyderabad. But this hangar, instead of being used to house aircrafts, it was converted into a bus station and stayed that way for   decades.  The hangar first served as the first bus depot of Road Transport Development under the Nizam’s State Railway (NSR). 

Later, it was converted into a full-fledged central bus station serving the needs of millions of people for almost six decades. Later, in 1994, the entire operation of long distance buses both intra and interstate were shifted to Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station. 

Later, the hangar was being used as city bus terminus and depot.   The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation authorities had planned to demolish this. However, the locals objected to this and wanted the authorities to preserve the site since it was historical one.

Transport Minister P Mahender Reddy said that they would take this to the notice of the Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and decide what can be done to get additional revenue. 

He said that government would do justice to the shop owners, who have been dependent on the station for their livelihood. “We will hold a special meeting in three days to chalk out what best can be done for these shop owners,” said Mahender Reddy.

Earlier, Sunil Sharma, who came to the site, said that the structure was very old and was in a dilapidated condition and it was not in use for the last five days. “We came for inspection of this but unfortunately it has collapsed. He said that there were 14 shops in the station and most of them were closed.