Two towns in Guntur to get clock towers again

GUNTUR: In a move that’s likely to bring back memories from decades ago, Narasaraopet and Sattenapalli towns will soon have clock towers again. They were demolished in the recent past, but philanthropists have now decided to rebuild them in the same locations.

While the clock tower at the town centre in Narasaraopet was first constructed in 1963 by the Rotary Club, the one in Sattenapalli was built in 1968 with funds donated by the then Arya Vysya Association member Annam Narasimha Rao. Both eventually started to crumble and were demolished by the municipal authorities.

Before being demolished, the one in Sattenapalli got damaged after being rammed by a heavy vehicle in 2011. Now, after about nine years, Arya Vysya Association member Ch Sambasiva Rao has come forward to rebuild the clock tower. It is expected to cost about Rs 25 lakh. The one in Narasaraopet will cost about Rs 16 lakh.

Similarly, the Narasaraopet clock tower was neglected, and hawkers set up shop around it, making the historic structure lose its prominence. In 2012, the municipal authorities demolished it to widen the road.

With philanthropists coming forward to construct new clock towers where the historic ones stood, local MLAs Dr Gopireddy Srinivas Reddy (Narasaraopet) and Ambati Rambabu (Sattenapalli) got the required permissions from the municipal authorities.

The Rotary Club of Narasaraopet offered to build a clock tower at an estimated cost of Rs 16 lakh at Narasaraopet. The one at Sattenapalli, meanwhile, will cost about Rs 25 lakh. Rotarians KP Ranga Rao, K Ramachandra Datt, T Rajasekhara Reddy, Madimidi Subba Rao and Jammula Radhakrishna agreed to donate the entire amount needed for the clock tower in Narasaraopet.

“Clock towers stand as a landmark in towns and cities and are an example of the glory of the past,’’ Rotary members KR Ranga Rao and Rajasekhar Reddy said.

Sattenapalli municipal commissioner P Srinivasa Rao told TNIE that the clock tower was the “pride of Sattenapalli town”. He said the new clock tower would be constructed within three months. “It will be 44 ft high and will be visible from far away,’’ he added.