After repair and restoration of the three clock towers in Moazzamjahi Market, Mahbub Chowk, and Secunderabad, GHMC will now take up repairs and restoration of the remaining historical clock towers across the city.
Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration and Urban Development, Arvind Kumar issued instructions to the GHMC officials to firm up plans to take up immediate restoration and renovation of all the clocks in the historical towers in the city. He passed the orders after visiting the clock towers at Shalibanda, Sultan Bazar and Monda Market along with the corporation officials on Wednesday, and observing the condition of the clocks and the structures.
Dilapidated state
During his visit to Shalibanda, he observed that the structure was dilapidated and the clocks were not working on both sides of the gateway. He asked the GHMC officials to immediately take up repairs of the clocks and ensure their periodical maintenance. The clock in the tower at Sultan Bazar too was not functional, and the tower was in a decrepit condition. Owing to lack of maintenance for a long period, encroachments were seen towards the main road. Mr. Arvind Kumar directed the officials to prepare a restoration plan that includes repairs to the clock, construction of compound wall on all four sides, re-painting of the structure, and provision of lighting.
He also asked the officials to get the encroachments removed and have the trees around the tower trimmed for better visibility of the clock. This apart, he also asked the officials to take up repair works to the old assembly hall in the premises of the Sultan Bazar Government High School.
At Monda Market, the Principal Secretary entered the first floor of the building where the clock is fixed, and asked the officials to take up repairs of the clock which is not working. He also went around the old Jail Khana nearby and directed the zonal commissioner to convene a meeting with the local shopkeepers and take up minimum repairs with the cooperation of the local community. Chief Engineer Ziauddin and Director, Charminar Pedestrianisation Project, Srinivasa Rao were present during the visit, besides zonal commissioners Musharraf Ali, Srinivas Reddy and Raghu Prasad.