Secunderabad, Hyderabad iconic clock towers run no more

Hyderabad: Time stands still in the iconic clock towers of Secunderabad and Hyderabad, which once hosted many struggles and protests under it. They are now in a state of neglect. There are many popular clock towers in the various busy spots of the city such as Mozamjahi market, Mahbub Chowk, Chowmahalla Palace, Shahalibanda, and Charminar and others, but only some of them are working.

Till date, there is no official survey on the number of clock towers with the government, except the verbal inputs from the concerned local authorities. Some clock towers are being encroached upon too. 

The clock tower at Shalibanda on the premises of Raja Rai Ram temple is encroached upon by a private individual  who built a house near  the tower blocking the view. 

Mohan Guruswamy, a resident of Yapral, speaking about the Secunderabad Clock Tower said,  “The Telangana movement started in that Clock Tower ground in 1969 and now the Clock Tower doesn't work. It needs proper maintenance in order to work, regular care should be taken, without which how will it work, he said.

K. Srinivasa Rao, director of planning and heritage, GHMC, said that, “Most of these clock towers needs regular maintenance as the pigeons keep entering the tower and disturbing the machinery. Only a skilled person can repair it. The battery operated Clock Tower in Secunderabad has some problem regarding wire connectivity.”

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, which maintains most of the clocks towers in the city, is also in a dilemma, whether to replace the age-old mechanised system that exists in many clock towers or to repair it and continue with the same model.

Mohammed Musharraf Ali Faruqui, additional commissioner of the GHMC, who is in charge of the city's heritage, said “We will take up the work of all the clock towers in the city at the earliest. 

“We are looking for skilled people who can repair these clocks and there are not many in this area. There was a proposal to replace the clocks with computerised system, but we dropped it,” he said.

The additional commissioner said, “We need to take a decision on this issue at the earliest. We have recently finalised a design for Mozamjahi market and we are looking one for Murgi Chowk too,” Mr Faruqui said.

Anuradha, convener of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, Hyderabad, said, “Clock towers are one of the diversified heritage wealth that the city has. It is mandatory that every government has to maintain it and pass on to the next generation. It is the way of informing the time and date to the public.” 

“Even though people have their mobile phones, many still haven’t stopped using watches. These clock towers are the convenience that is immediately available to the people and it should be conserved as a memory of a time when watches were not common. Now, because of these Metro pillars, one has to bend to see the clock towers,” she said. 

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