The Hindu : Major facelift for Clock Tower in Secunderabad

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 25, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh-Hyderabad

Major facelift for Clock Tower in Secunderabad

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD Feb. 24. The Clock Tower in Secunderabad is in for a facelift. Plans are under way to restore the pristine glory of the 240-year-old landmark at a cost of Rs. 80 lakhs.

The Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH) has decided to re-christen the Clock Tower as Heritage Square. The park around it is proposed to be developed with landscaping and fountains. The whole project will be completed in six months and the spot will become a major tourist attraction, said the Mayor T. Krishna Reddy, who visited Secunderabad on Monday. The Mayor inspected the ongoing works in Secunderabad and said a sum of Rs. 5.5 crores had been given as compensation to the 400 properties affected in the six roads taken up for widening this year. Presspersons saw the bulldozers in action at several places.

The road between the Clock Tower and Secunderabad railway station would be widened from the present 60 feet to 120 feet and the Tank Bund-Paradise road by 85 feet. It was proposed to improve 44 traffic junctions this year at a cost of Rs. 3 crores. They include the traffic islands at Punjagutta, Ameerpet, S.R. Nagar, Falaknuma, Santhoshnagar, Masab Tank, Bazarghat, Nampally railway station, Paradise circle and Boats Club. Earlier, addressing the Secunderabad corporators, the Mayor informed that 520 works worth Rs. 14.5 crores had been sanctioned in Secunderabad. Of this, 268 works costing Rs. 6.22 crores were completed. The remaining would be taken up shortly.

Several corporators wanted the Mayor to ensure that the Sanjeevaiah Park remained with the Corporation as it was the only major park in Secunderabad. They opposed the Government's move to hand it over to HUDA. Mr. Krishna Reddy said the Government had constituted the Buddha Poornima Authority under which the Sanjeevaiah Park was also covered. He assured that he would speak to the Chief Minister in this regard. The corporators further insisted that the revenue accruing to the Corporation from Secunderabad should be spent on its development alone. They regretted that neither the Mayor, Deputy Mayor nor the Standing Committee chairman cared to visit Secunderabad.

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