Hyderabad, September 28: The Union ministry of tourism has now sanctioned an amount of Rs 8 crore to uplift and restore historic monuments in and around the iconic Charminar. This was announced by the state tourism department on the occasion of world tourism day, observed on Tuesday.
The funds, to be released under the ‘strengthening of tourist infrastructure of historic Charminar core and other areas’ will see seven protected/listed monuments in the Old city undergo renovation activity from the first week of December.
The list includes the Shahi Jilu Khana Darwaza, Diwan Devdi Kaman, Chatta Bazar Kaman, Dabeerpura Darwaza, Maqbara Kalyani Nawab, Purana Pul Darwaza and the Moghulpura Tombs. Initially, even the Iqbal-ud-dowla Devdi and Syed Shah Raju Qattal Tomb were part of the project, but has now been dropped due to the shortage of funds, tourism authorities said.
“The total amount that the state had sought from the central government for this work was Rs 12.02 crore. As the funds approved are less than that, we had to exclude some privately-owned properties from the list,” said a conservation architect working on the project with the state tourism department.
Besides restoration, some heritage monuments in this area, maintained either by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) or the state archaeology department, will also be ‘illuminated’ or ‘put to adaptive reuse’ as part of this project. Said the heritage consultant, “A part of the funds will be used to appropriately illuminate heritage structures like the State Central Library and High Court to make them more eye-catching for tourists. Even the Osmania General Hospital and City College can be part of this, in case we have sufficient funds.” As for the Charminar police station, conservationists say that the over two centuries old structure will be restored and might even be put to re-use for appropriate purposes.
Besides carrying out work on heritage properties, the sanctioned money will also be used to fund promotional activities of the state department __ putting up signage in heritage areas, printing brochures etc. “We have sent the revised proposal (to fit the budget) to the Centre. Once the funds are sanctioned we will start all the work,” the consultant said adding, “It should take off by the first week of December.”
The tourism department, meanwhile, also launched two new heritage walks on Tuesday to mark the occasion. The new routes, between Charminar and Purani Haveli (via Mir Alam Mandi) and Afzalgunj and River Front, have been added to the two existing walks on popular demand, officials said.
“The second route has largely been designed for groups who want an exclusive walk conducted for them. We are looking forward to a lot of participation from denizens,” said Madhu Votteri, heritage walk coordinator.
Jayesh Ranjan, secretary, tourism, said that his department was keen on taking the number of such heritage walks in the Old City to nine eventually.
—Source:TOi