Hyderabad: Historical structures at British Residency neglected

Koti: Conservation works of historic Darbar Hall of the former British Residency (OU College for Women) here are going on. Apart from Darbar Hall, there are several such historic structures that are being neglected, as no works were taken up by the concerned authorities. Due to lack of maintenance, they are crumbling.

Heritage conservationists have called for saving the remaining centuries-old structures in British Residency. According to them, there are several such structures which are around 215 years old, like the kamans (gateway).

"There are two arches, Empress Gate and Lansdowne Gate, located in the heritage site which is dilapidated due to lack of maintenance by the Heritage department. The plaster is gone; peeling walls and gates turned in to rust; the gateways need attention and have to be preserved," said Mohammed Habeebuddin, a conservationist.

He pointed that crores are being spent on the conservation work of Darbar Hall; but the route to the hall through the arches is in the worst condition. The department has to take up work of the remaining structures. "Apart from lack of maintenance of arches, there is a century-old structure on the verge of falling apart. Its condition has turned bad to worse. Restoration of the miniature model and historic gardens have to be repaired," he added.

According to the department, the work of converting the Darbar Hall into a museum, displaying Hyderabad history and artefacts, is on. The first phase of the conservation of the age-old buildings has been completed to around 75 per cent.

"The remaining structures are also included in the conservation action plan, but due to the lack of budget, the work on other structures is on hold. However, apart from the sanctioned Rs 1 crore from the government, an additional Rs 50 lakh was provided," said an officer of the department.

The British Residency, which is said to be more than two-centuries old, was a mansion constructed by James Achilles Kirkpatrick, a British resident in Hyderabad, who lived there along with his Indian wife, Khair-un-Nissa Begum. Part of this iconic structure is the women's college. It was in 1949 that the residency was converted into the college and it was declared a protected monument.

The conservation works began in 2016. The OU took up the work in collaboration with the World Monuments Fund (WMF), National Culture Fund of Union Ministry of Culture and the Department of Archaeology and Museums.