Officials to revamp Old City heritage structures
Qutb authority has taken up 13 works at a cost of `60.02 cr
Quli Qutub Shah Urban Development Authority (QQSUDA) has decided to dust off the old proposals of Charminar pedestrianisation project (CPP), which was earlier with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). It will now execute the pending works against an estimated cost of `48.74 crore.
CPP is proposed to pedestrianize the precincts surrounding Charminar over a radius of 220 metres by diverting vehicular traffic through two ring roads, inner ring road (IRR) and outer ring road (ORR). The corporation has taken up 13 works at a cost of `60.02 crore and completed six of them spending around `11.28 crore.
The remaining seven works which were in progress were handed over to QQSUDA. The funds for the project would be spent from the GHMC’s treasury.
Under CPP, the QQSUDA will execute works at Lad Bazar and Pathergatti. The body will also take care of restoration works at Mir Alam Tank, Mir Alam Mandi, Sardar Mahal, Murgi Chowk and other heritage structures in the Old City. The body will oversee civic amenities, including electricity connections, water supply, drainage, housing, and market facilities.
The QQSUDA, which was established in 1981 to carry out developmental activities in the Old City, has been struggling to stay afloat. This institution remained neglected by successive earlier governments. Firstly, the QQSUDA officials have decided to demolish Murgi Chowk and reconstruct it with Rs 36 crore. After the reconstructing, the number of shops would be reduced from 200 to about 190. The Murgi Chowk is one of Hyderabad's heritage structures in the Old City and houses over 200 shops that predominantly sell birds besides meat. This apart, the agency will take conservation works of the four kamans at Gulzar Houz at a cost of `1.48 crore, fix bollards with
`2.38 crore, conserve the balance portion of the facade of the Pathergatti stone arcade with a budget of `2.97 crore, replace exist cobble stone with granite flooring, similar to the one at Charminar with a `1.70 crore budget, provide fencing in the present hawker zone around Charminar at
`87.85 lakh and hire a consultant for facade development of Laad Bazar at
`32.45 lakh. The GHMC has already executed works like laying granite pavement on Laad Bazaar road and Sardar Mahal road, laying granite stone at the buffer zone under CPP, provided granite pavement on Macca Masjid road, took up conservation and renovation works of clock tower and executed facade restoration as a pilot project.
Meanwhile, launched in
2006, the `35-crore CPP works are being taken up with central and state Government assistance. The CPP was partly funded by Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) in
2012.
The project was intended to reduce pollution, have uniform signages, removal of hoardings, conservation efforts and road widening to make the four roads pedestrianfriendly as well as provide alternate roads for the traffic. The corporation over the years has completed the construction of kerbing, footpath and granite paving round Charminar at an estimated cost of `35 crore since
2012. However, the corporation themselves have destroyed the works for a decade and ensured that the project would never progress. Citing this, the government has now handed over the projects to QQSUDA by deploying a special team.