HYDERABAD: Even after its demise, the Mississippi Hangar is fetching big bucks for the cash-strapped transport corporation. About 28 bidders had come forward to claim the tonnes of iron scrap from the hangar installed in the 1930s by Butler & Co. Of them, eight were shortlisted and the highest bidder, who quoted `45 lakh, has been considered.
However, negotiations with the bidder are still underway after which the structure will be dismantled and the entire space cleaned. “A negotiation meeting will be held next week after which we are expecting a revenue boost for the corporation,” said a senior TSRTC official. “In case talks fail, we will have to float an open tender.”
After the mammoth structure came crashing on July 5, TSRTC decided to turn the place into an integrated bus complex that can house bus shelters, bus pass counters, and commercial space. But three months since then, it’s not even close to achieving this redevelopment. Now, passengers are forced to wait under open sky as two bus stops currently being utilised as a stop-gap arrangement have no space.
With the average footfall being around 85,000 a day, passengers and officials are feeling the heat. “The main problem is lack of a bus shelter. Without it passengers are having to weather the sun and rain while waiting for a bus,” said a field officer of the TSRTC at CBS. Facilities like toilets and convenience stores, which were earlier there at the bus stand, is being missed by many. A request placed by TSRTC officials with GHMC counterparts for installation of mobile toilets has fallen on deaf years.
Heritage activists, meanwhile, have decried the move to sell the Hangar as scrap. “This is a very sad state of affairs. We, the Nizam’s Family Welfare Association, had written to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao asking for it to be preserved. However, we did not receive any response,” said Nawab Najaf Ali Khan, grandson of the seventh Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan Bahadur.
Similarly, Dr Iqbal Jaweed, a heritage enthusiast and chairman of the Telangana Mass and Social Organisation (TMAS) said, “We had recommended the government to shift it to outskirts of the city, assemble it and use it as a public space for events. This is a sad move which would infuriate the public.”
However, P Anuradha Reddy, historian and INTACH convenor said, “We understand that TSRTC could not maintain the hangar as it is in losses.” Reddy said that heritage enthusiasts had planned to take matters into their hands, but their plans to rebuild it were cut short due to lack of funds.