Yeh Humara Shehar Bolaram

Bolarum is one of the major suburbs located in Secunderabad Cantonment and partially in GHMC limits. With a population of about 40,000 it has people who are working in Railways, industries and Defence.

The major landmarks are Officer's Mess, Ayyappa Temple, St. Ann's Provincilate, St. Ann’s Convent and Junior College, The Holy Trinity Church, Rashtrapati Nilayam, Valerian Grammar School, Sadhana Mandir School, Cantonment Hospital, Bolarum Library, Kutiya Temple, Gurdwara and Mosques, Bolarum Police Station, Bolarum Garden, Bolarum Railway Station and many more historic monuments.

Major localities are Doveton Bazar, Risala Bazar, Kalasiguda, Bolarum Bazar, Chintal Bazar, Pioneer Bazar, Burton Guda and Macha Bolarum. Neighbourhood areas include Alwal, Devar Yamzal, Tumkunta and Kowkoor.

It is 12 km to the Secunderabad Railway Station and 45 km to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. TSRTC buses are available to all parts of the city. The nearest railway stations are Bolarum Bazar and Bolarum.

History

According to locals, Bolarum was a core part of the cantonment area of British rulers where the army of colonial government had to be exclusively quartered. Cantonments meant quarters assigned for lodging troops, a permanent military station created by the British government in India for the location of military formation away from the civilian towns and insulated from the Indian nationalist influences. The encompassing area was mostly planned by the Brits during the time of the Nizams. In the past, more than half of the area used to be agricultural, but the farms have been transformed into residential and commercial areas.

The first Defence Minister of India Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel negotiated the terms of surrender with the Nizam, when he came to Hyderabad as commander of the Indian Army to annex Hyderabad State. During the Freedom struggle Acharya Vinoba Bhave stayed in Sadhana Mandir for a few days on his journey of the famous Bhoodhaan Yagna.

The historic Holy Trinity Church, popularly known as the ‘Queen’s Church’ was constructed in 1847 in European-style and was funded by Queen Victoria.

Bolarum is an educational hub of Hyderabad; many students turn out to be good doctors and engineers. In addition it has produced many sports personalities including Peter Thangaraj, goal keeper of Indian football team and Ramswamy, football coach for Railways among others.

Problems

PD Ashok Kumar, president of the Bolarum Senior Citizens Association said that though we got independence, the British legacy, it rules and laws are still applicable in the Cantonment area, in particular reference to Bolarum, where no construction permission is given by the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB).

Drinking water supply is insufficient. There is no community hall for residents, though we are fighting since 1963 for it. Unlike in the GHMC limits that have the double bedroom housing scheme of the State Government, the SCB areas do not have any such facility for the poor and weaker sections of the society.

By:Ch Saibaba