Rain damages Nizam’s 119-year-old mansion

Naveen S Garewal

Tribune News Service

Hyderabad, July 15

Unprecedented rains that have lashed the city for the past three days have caused severe damage and panic among the residents. The history lovers are a disappointed lot after a portion of the historic Mahbub Mansion belonging to Mir Mahbub Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VI, the sixth Nizam, collapsed due to the rain on Wednesday night.

The building, which is 119 years old, is a reminiscence of the Nizam’s era in the Deccan. The building is in ruins and has been facing encroachments. The state authorities have barricaded the building.

The flooding and poor drainage have inundated many areas and sent fear among the residents of low-lying areas of the city’s southern side. Last year floods caused havoc in the city, leaving many people homeless.

On Wednesday night, panic gripped residents in some areas, and they started shifting from their houses in colonies surrounding the Osmannagar tank near Pahadishareef after water started entering their homes.

Similar reports of panic were also received from residents of Al Jubail colony in Chandrayangutta, which remained waterlogged for four days last year. Due to heavy rains, everyone who could move out or move to the upper floors did so while remaining awake to keep an eye on the developing situation. Fatima Begum, a resident of Al Jubail colony, said.

Residents of Moula ka Chilla, Yakutpura, Chacha Garage, Amannagar, Lalithbagh and Uppuguda have also witnessed anxious moments for the past few days of rains. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) monitors the situation and clears the water-logging wherever possible using pumps.