HYDERABAD: Who said police officers have no sentiments? With heavy heart and preserving fond memories - police personnel belonging to the famous Ramgopalpet Police Station located on the busy Mahatma Gandhi (MG) Road in Secunderabad have begun vacating this heritage monument as the ongoing torrential rains, which have been pounding the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad for the past one week, has taken its toll on this building.
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) authorities have begun asking the police personnel to vacate the building housing the police station, as it is on the verge of collapse, and may be demolished by GHMC in the coming days given its dilapidated condition.
Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav of Secunderabad,inspected the building on friday afternoon and asked the police present there to immediately vacate the building.
"The GHMC officials already issued notices to all those living in old and dilapidated buildings in the twin cities to vacate them, following incessant rains. One such notice was issued to Ramgopalpet police station also," officials said.
The building that houses the police station has been serving as a landmark for the denizens of the city on the busy MG Road of Secunderbad, from the olden days when the road was called James Street.
Earlier, Ramgopalpet Police Station also used to be known as James Street Police Station.The building, which has a clock tower on its forepart was constructed by Diwan Bahadur Seth Ramgopal, a Rajasthani trader, who had accumulated wealth in Hyderabad. Later, he donated it to the Police Department for its use. After that, the entire area was named after him.Seth Ramgopal's statue can be still seen near the famous Paradise Hotel, another landmark in Secunderabad.
Considering the building's uniqueness and history,The government in the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh back in 1998 declared the Ramgopalpet Police Station building as a heritage structure.
The police station falls under the central zone of the Hyderabad City Police. The Hussain Sagar lake police also comes under the jurisdiction of this age-old police station.
The entire MG Road or Mahatma Gandhi Road formerly known as James Street is spread over 2 km of the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.