HYDERABAD: One person was injured after a portion of the 100-year-old Nampally Sarai, another protected heritage structure in the city and once considered the gateway to Old City, collapsed on Saturday due to negligence.
Located adjacent to the Nampally station, the roof of the structure that was built by the sixth Nizam Mahboob Ali Pasha in 1919, collapsed at 4.30 pm injuring a beggar, Mohammed Feroze (35). Feroze who was injured in his right leg in the incident was rescued by taxi drivers at the taxi stand nearby and was taken to Osmania General Hospital, police said.
GHMC Central Zone Commissioner Musharraf Faruqui who was at the spot told Express, “The building was already in a dilapidated condition.” The GHMC plans to undertake a structural assessment of the two-storeyed building, Faruqui said.
According to sources, the building was handed over to Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) during the construction of Nampally Metro station. A GHMC official said that it was the responsibility of the HMRL to protect the structures.
The GHMC has been using dilapidated buildings for storing sanitary tools. Faruqui said the rooms in which the tools were stored are fine, and only the balcony had collapsed. Disaster Response Force personnel were deployed to clear the rubble.
It is important to note that in 1998, another balcony, located on the eastern portion of the building collapsed due to corrosion of the iron rafters. The Sarai which was built in memory of the First World War treaty was spread over an area of 5,828 sq yards.
Slamming the administration, Intach Hyderabad convenor Anuradha Reddy said: “This is the state of our heritage. They are just leaving the structures as they are and waiting for them to collapse. The HMRL had said that they would restore the structure, but nothing happened.”