HYDERABAD: After years of heritage activists demanding the revamp of the Nizam-era market, the Quli Qutub Shah Urban Development Authority (QQSUDA) is going to take up the restoration of the Mir Alam Mandi at an estimated cost of Rs 10.50 crore.
Named after Mir Alam, the prime minister to third Nizam Sikander Jah, the Mir Alam Mandi is more than 200 years old. Though about 40 to 50 storeowners and 300 vendors continued the business from the five-acre historical location, it was under serious threat owing to the crumbling kaman (arch) at the market entrance and the tin sheets on the shops falling apart.
Earlier in April, MAUD Special Chief Secretary Arvind Kumar held a meeting, which was presided by Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, with stall owners to finalise the design concepts for the market. The members unanimously chose a design.
Sources told TNIE that the restoration of the Mir Alam Mandi will be taken up by the State government keeping in mind the historical glory of the place.Bids to take up the renovation have been invited. The selected agency would have 18 months to finish the works from the date of the signing of the agreement.
Officials said the main works that would be taken up as part of the restoration include the dismantling of the existing structure, providing external water supply arrangements, building stormwater drains, setting up a rainwater collection pit, erecting lamp posts with LED lamps, laying internal cement-concrete roads, installing 400 KVA transformer and setting up a power yard, put up street dustbins and developing an underground drainage system and other facilities to cater to present needs.