HYDERABAD: The Nizam-era Government City College, situated on the banks of river Musi adjacent to the Hyderabad High Court, is at last poised for a major facelift.
The college building has remained a shambles for decades notwithstanding the fact that it was once listed as a Grade II-B building by the then Heritage Conservation Committee (HCC) and proposed to be handed over to the department of archaeology and museums (DAM) in 2011.
The restoration of the building has begun with around 20 workers engaged in the work.
The first phase of restoration work is being undertaken with a fund of Rs 1.10 crore received by the college from Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), a central government-sponsored scheme, says C Manjulatha, principal of the college. It is estimated that it will take two months for procuring the necessary raw material required for the restoration work.
“The central fund has come to us through the Union ministry of human resource development. Besides, we have received Rs 1.83 crore from the state government. The work contract has been given to the Telangana State Medical Service and Infrastructure Development Corporation (TSMSIDC), a state government undertaking,” Manjulatha said.
“The college building stands in an area of 16,000 sft. I don’t think that the money we have received will be sufficient for restoring the entire building. For now, we plan to renovate two sides —eastern and western —of the building by September this year,” she further added.
Architectural Synthesis
The building was designed by Vincent Esch, one of the prominent European architects of the period at the instance of the last Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, during 1915-20. The structure is famous for its Hindu and Islamic styles of architecture and stands as a symbol of secularism.
The blending of the pillar and lintels in the style of Ajanta and Ellora caves with the Indo-Saracen arches of superstructure and facade represents the composite culture of Hyderabad. The three-storeyed structure has a large central archway and parapets with many domes, supported by brackets, corbels and lintels.