Renovated Gulzar Houz raises activists’ hackles

♦ Deccan Terrain, which was given the task of the restoration by the State govt, entirely remodelled the structure

♦ INTACH convenor said that she was stunned with the renovation done to the structure

♦ Asaduddin Owaisi laid the foundation for three new major projects in Old city

Hyderabad: The 400-year-old iconic Char-Su-Ka-Hauz, or the Gulzar Houz was finally rebuilt and opened to the public on Friday and has turned ‘a welcome point’ of historic Charminar. The heritage activists raised concerns over its peculiar reconstruction made with modern tiles and the renovation turned out to be a futile exercise.

Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi along with Arvind Kumar, Special Secretary for Urban Developmentlaunched the Gulzar Houz on Friday. Aiming to preserve the city’s rich cultural heritage, the restoration project was taken up at a cost of Rs 29.5 lakh.

The Gulzar Houz was constructed in the middle of the four arches during the Qutub Shahi dynasty in the 16 century. Following the renovation, some heritage enthusiasts feel that the restoration has changed the nature of Gulzar Houz, which is one of the city’s foundational monuments. However, nobody is sure what the monument looked like when the city was founded over four centuries ago by the Qutb Shahi Sultans. The heritage activists say, originally it was constructed without any tiles, but this has not been renovated to its original structure, instead it has been built with modern tiles. We are changing history and failed to conserve the historic monuments and structures in the city.

Speaking about the renovation Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) convenor, Anuradha Reddy said that she is ‘speechless’ with the renovation done to the structure.

“I have seen some minor changes over the decades, but never something radical like this. We have tiles in the Qutb Shahi tombs but those are different. Now modern materials that have nothing to do with the period have been used,” said Mohammed Ahmed, an activist.

Over the years, the architecture of Gulzar Houz has undergone renovations. Initially constructed with twelve sides, it gradually evolved into an octagonal shape and appears almost circular. It was last ‘renovated’ in 2020 by the Lions Club, which gave it a fresh coat of yellow and green paint. In February 2022, the State government handed over the restoration to a private firm called Deccan Terrain. With no visual reference for the original structure, the current restoration project has used the 1880s image as a blueprint.

Activists said that the Deccan Terrain, which was given the task of the ‘restoration’, entirely remodelled the structure. The old concrete boundary walls have been replaced with raised stones that match the architecture in the area.

Meanwhile, after the inauguration, Asaduddin Owaisi laid the foundation for three new major projects in Old city, including the construction of a multi-level parking area at Charminar Old Bus Stand worth Rs 34.60 crore and a foundation for development works to beautify shop elevation at Laad Bazaar, Charminar at a cost of Rs 36 crore.

Further, the foundation for two pedestrian bridges on the Musi River at Nayapul was laid worth Rs 80 crore with each bridge costing Rs 40 crore.