HYDERABAD: Brick by brick, wall by wall, several blocks of Telangana’s old Secretariat building were torn down in the early hours of Tuesday, setting in motion the State government’s plan to replace it with an ultra-modern structure. The High Court gave the green signal for the demolition on June 29. The demolition undertaken by the Roads and Buildings Department and the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) began with a homam near Nalla Pochamma temple.
The temple deity was moved to another place. Later, the officials handed over holy books that were kept in a mosque on the premises of the old Secretariat to Muslim elders. The rock building located outside the Secretariat, which housed the electricity office, was the first to be razed. Soon, the demolition of the G Block, which was constructed by the Nizams over 132 years ago, was initiated. As on Tuesday evening, demolition of 50 per cent of the said block and over 20 per cent of the C and H blocks was completed, as per sources. All the 10 blocks of the old Secretariat would be torn down over the next four to five days.
Old buildings of Telangana Secretariat being demolished in Hyderabad on Tuesday.@XpressHyderabad @KrishnaRaoCHVM pic.twitter.com/r1Tneyabte
— R V K Rao (@RVKRao2) July 7, 2020
Though the officials had considered employing the implosion technique to raze the buildings, they stuck to the traditional method of using earthmovers, after they were advised against the former technique over potential damage to the Hussainsagar. New building The construction of the new Secretariat complex would commence on an auspicious day in Sravana Masam that begins on July 21. The design for the new Secretariat building was released by the Chief Minister’s Office on Tuesday. The CMO announced that the design is likely to be approved. A few of the old Secretariat blocks are in a dilapidated state.
Some of the newly-constructed ones too have gray areas, as far as safety is concerned. According to an official report, all the blocks within the old Secretariat complex do not have sufficient fire-fighting equipment. This is one of the reasons why the complex is being demolished. Further, the 10 blocks of the complex are scattered across 25 acres. This goes against the vastu principles that CM K Chandrasekhar Rao believes in.
Why the demolition
All the blocks within the old Secretariat complex do not have sufficient fire-fighting equipment. This is one of the reasons why the complex is being demolished. Further, the 10 blocks of the complex are scattered across 25 acres. This goes against the vastu principles that the Chief Minister believes in
STALWART CMs
It may be recalled that stalwarts like Boorgula Ramakrishna Rao, NT Rama Rao, Marri Channa Reddy functioned as CMs from the old Secretariat. They used G and C blocks. However, after becoming CM, KCR functioned from the Secretariat only for some days and later began functioning from Pragathi Bhavan
SAFETY FIRST
Before the demolition of the structure, police personnel were deployed on all the roads surrounding the old Secretariat building to ensure public safety. As a precaution, the government also declared Tuesday a holiday for all the offices in BRKR Bhavan, where the Secretariat is temporarily housed