Hyderabad: Charminar
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On the brink of danger
Charminar, the soul of Hyderabad, needs to be saved
Mir Ayoob Ali Khan,TNN | Sep 7, 2014 The Times of India
The Charminar is the Telangana state emblem.
The ageing historic Charminar structure is under attack from a growing volume of vehicular traffic around it and an alarmingly high level of pollution that are together inflicting debilitating blows on its foundation and the building itself.
The iconic building remains on the brink of danger.
The Charminar Pedestrianisation Project (CPP) was conceived with the stated objective of protecting the monument by creating new lifelines in the entire heritage precinct and reducing pressure on those that have aged and become narrow. But the implementation of the project has been so painfully slow that instead of providing relief it has become a burden now.
To restore Charminar to its past glory, all its stakeholders—the residents, business community, hawkers, and regular pedestrians—have to be taken on board. At the same time GHMC needs to be declared the nodal agency for CPP with no other government being allowed to take up any work in the precinct, without clearance from the civic body.
The fact that the CPP has become dated should be taken into account and accordingly revised with the help of experts from within and outside the city. Inputs from public representatives should also be taken seriously. Incidentally, the MIM which has been accused in the past of blocking the implementation of the CPP has come out openly in its support. The detailed meeting of GHMC officials with MIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi, Charminar MLA Ahmed Pasha Quadri and Mayor Majid Hussain held recently is reflective of the same.
MIM insiders say that the party is keen on ensuring the completion of the CPP in the next couple of years as it has started to believe that the entire precinct would not only become an attractive tourist destination but also turn into a bigger business hub, once the project is finished.
Some businessmen who have expressed concerns about the implementation of the project in its present form feel that rushing its implementation without revising the plan would sound the death knell for business in the area. In fact, one among them pointed out how the once buzzing cloth market near Madina Junction is already dying, courtesy the chaotic traffic that has become a deterrent for shoppers.
They believe, when the road from Madina Junction to Charminar is closed down for vehicular traffic, as has been envisaged by in the CPP, the outer ring road from Darushifa to Hari Bowli would not be able to bear the additional load of traffic. Thus, GHMC planners will have to come up with an alternate arterial road plan. Moreover, shutting down the Madina Junction-Charminar road, without providing transportation for shoppers, would be like closing down the entire market, traders rue.
But intelligent planning, these businessmen add, could open up new avenues around Charminar and facilitate expansion of establishments, particularly on the Khilwat Road leading to Chowk, Moosa Bowli and Hussaini Alam.
What the CPP also needs to focus on is on creating a network of roads, to facilitate traffic mobility without causing inconvenience to the public and provide ample parking space. A multi-level parking area has been identified in Khilwat.
[Between the mid-1990s and 2014] the GHMC has been able to lay cobble stone only on one side of Charminar up to Sardar Mahal. Three other sides remain as bad as they were before.
