HMR not to demolish Nampally Sarai

HMR not to demolish Nampally Sarai
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Highlights

: The Nampally Sarai an abode for tired travelers and fondly referred as Sulah Sarai meaning-a peaceful resting place is today a pale shadow of its former self. The resting place would turn 100 years next year is so weak that if the authorities do not take up restoration work before the monsoon it may well crumble.  

Hyderabad: The Nampally Sarai an abode for tired travelers and fondly referred as Sulah Sarai meaning-a peaceful resting place is today a pale shadow of its former self. The resting place would turn 100 years next year is so weak that if the authorities do not take up restoration work before the monsoon it may well crumble.

Presently under the Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR), the Nampally Sarai was initially taken up to be used for parking and circulation area but the authorities put it on hold due to its condition. The HMR is now planning to use the Nampally taxi stand area for parking and let the Sarai remain.

Speaking to The Hans India N V S Reddy, Managing Director, HMR said “As of now we have not decided anything. The structure is brittle that lime mortar has given away in several places and may collapse if we work on it.”

Meanwhile, the HMR is taking over the taxi stand area which would be developed for a multi-level car parking zone.

The Nampally Sarai which is spread over an area of 5,828 sq yards was built by the Mahboob Ali Pasha, the sixth Nizam in 1919 in memory of the First World War treaty.

It was used as a state guest house after independence but due to lack of maintenance, the structure became weak. There were attempts to demolish it in 2002 but thanks to the uproar from heritage activists, the structure was saved but not restored. “We had hopes that the Sarai would be restored to its former glory by HMR, but it has not happened. It can be restored as it is a unique structure,” says Imran a social activist.

Few years ago, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) planned to take it back from HMR and build a commercial complex but the plan fizzled out. HMR officials are not planning to hand it over and have no plans to demolish it. Rahim, a taxi driver and resident of Ek Minar

By T P Venu & M M Farooqui

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