HYDERABAD: The State government is planning to take up the restoration of Raja Bhagwandas Bagh Pavilion in Karwan, the only surviving palace in the city to be entirely made of wood. The palace was believed to be built as the women’s quarters for one of the Qutb Shahi queens, and was once located in the middle of a 26-acre garden. The structure is now decaying with every passing day, and is in dire need of restoration.
On Friday, MAUD principal secretary Arvind Kumar expressed his desire to restore the palace, indicating that the GHMC might take up the project. In a tweet, Kumar said, “Isn’t Hyderabad simply amazing? During inspections, I happened to visit this beautiful heritage structure which is unfortunately on the verge of collapse... time to take up its restoration [sic].”
In the early 1700s, the pavilion was bought by the ancestors of a well known Hyderabad resident, who till date holds ownership of the wooden palace. The structure is built on a platform using burma teak. The architecture has a heavy confluence of Mughal and Rajasthani styles. There are also remnants of once-a-Karwan-speciality, the Nirmal panting style.
The Raja Bhagwandas Bagh Pavilion is a listed heritage site in the HMDA’s Regulation 13, which underlines that private owners cannot demolish or sell the land where the structure is located. MAUD officials said that since the palace is a private property, consultations have to be taken up with the owners before restoration. “A feasibility study will be taken up, and only then will we undertake the restoration,” they said.