HYDERABAD : A photograph taken by Lala Deen Dayal between December 1887 and February 1888 captures a picturesque wide street bustling with people and carts. In the centre of this image stands a structure topped with a colonial-style clock tower. The street, originally named James Street in honour of James Achilles Kirkpatrick, the third British Resident in Hyderabad, is now known as Mahatma Gandhi Road. It remains a vibrant thoroughfare in Secunderabad, adorned with prominent landmarks like the Gandhi Statue, Chermas, Asrani Hotel, Paradise, and the Parsi Fire Temple. The bustling General Bazaar and residences flank its sides.
The clock tower and the building that once served as a police station were generously donated by the ‘munificent benefactor of Secunderabad’ Dewan Bahadur Seth Ramgopal Malani, after whom the area on the west of the road was named Ramgopalpet. (Described as such in ‘City of Secunderabad’, published by Secunderabad Municipal Corporation, 1955) His old house still stands a few metres away from the police station building, all newly painted red and green like a bride.
Additionally, James Street is home to a railway station bearing the same name. Established in 1874 by the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad, Mahboob Ali Khan, this station was part of the railway project that connected Secunderabad to Wadi Junction. It was the second station constructed along this important route after Secunderabad.
The Nizam agreed to finance the initial construction costs, and the capital for the line was raised through the issuance of redeemable mortgage debentures. Construction commenced in 1870, and in 1874 the Secunderabad-Wadi Line was completed. Subsequently, between 1874 and 1889, this line was extended first to Kazipet and then to Vijayawada. Initially being carried out by the Indian Peninsular Railways under the British, the project was later taken over by the Nizam with the formation of a management company and with a guarantee by the Nizam to pay 5% of the company’s revenue to the British.
In 1899, the broad gauge connection between Bezwada (Vijayawada) and Madras (Chennai Central) was established, facilitating rail travel between Hyderabad and Chennai. Subsequently, in 1916, the Kachiguda Railway Station was built as the railway’s headquarters.
The area is also known for some of the oldest bazaars that came up in a sprawling British cantonment in the 20th century. General Bazaar was known for its gold and silver jewellery and Regimental Bazaar extended to Alexandra Road, (now Sarojini Devi Road), which intersected with Oxford Street, now Sardar Patel Road. The area now known as Ranigunj was named after Queen Victoria.