Nampally Zero Milestone Still Marks Hyderabad Heart
Historians suggest that a display board with a brief description could help highlight its importance as a marker of the city’s geographic centre.
Hyderabad: The historic ‘zero milestone’ of Hyderabad sits silently and largely ignored on the road divider adjacent to the Ravindra Bharathi, in what is considered the ‘centre’ of the city. It remains just another stone, without anything to mark its significance.
The zero milestone serves as the official reference point for measuring distances to and from Hyderabad. It remains unnoticed by most passersby amid heavy traffic and a lack of knowledge about its existence given that it is so inconspicuous.
The stone bears an inscription showing the distance to Nagpur, which is considered the national zero milestone. Historians suggest that a display board with a brief description could help highlight its importance as a marker of the city’s geographic centre.
Researchers note that earlier milestones were once located near Golconda and Charminar, marking the early hubs of the city, before the present one was set up opposite the Assembly to denote Hyderabad’s central point.
While the National Highways Authority of India still refers to the Nampally marker for distance calculations, Google Maps currently identifies the Basheerbagh–Liberty stretch as Hyderabad’s city centre.
