Signage, a setback to CPP

Charminar Pedestrianisation Project (CPP) is Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation’s (GHMC) prestigious project for which works have been going on for over a decade and still there’s no light of its completion.

The project which began with the prime objective of reducing pollution around Charminar, later added elements like uniform signage, road widening, removing commercial hoardings and electric poles, restoring old sidewalks and cobbled roads into the project. GHMC’s efforts have not found redemption in any of the said issues.

Sometimes the civic body lands up in problems by implementing the ill advises of its consultants. Recently the GHMC had gone back for cobbled pathways replacing the already laid pathways with granite slabs which are worth a few lakhs. Another issue is, not finding a consensus on suitable signage in front of shops.

It seems that two conservation architects, who were consultants to the GHMC for the last decade, has suggested a uniform size signage boards like 8’X1’6”, 6’X1’9”. But this type of unrealistic imposition has been opposed by the shop owners. Their resistance had some worthy reason as the conservation architects proposal leads to bald sign boards.

For instance, the shops at Lad Baazar have averagely 7’ to 10’ wide shop widths with a common wall which makes the proposed signage board look like a single strip of ‘lifeless’ band fixed to the shop frontages. One more interesting observation is that most of the shops are owned by Muslims.

If we visit the areas inhabited by them, we will be surprised to see their creativity in incorporating their entrance gates and grills with unique patterns. It is necessary to conserve their artistic capabilities and should be given freedom in choosing the shape, style of font and colour with prescribed area of about 4 to 6 sqft.

Singage boards can be fixed perpendicular to the shop front or to the vertical metal poles erected near the shop front with artistic and creative metal brackets. Signage boards must be artistic and sculptural elements rather than monotonous lifeless boards. This will be a successful attempt in maintaining the local tradition in global scale to achieve a perfect pedestrian scape to give punch to the world heritage structure--‘The Charminar’.

After TRS came into power, it promised to turn Hyderabad and Secunderabad into world class cities. But the GHMC is not showing any interest to have pedestrian friendly sidewalks and signage on par with international standards by following the best practices in vogue except making statements through the media.

By:Avala Buchi Reddy