The historic King Kothi palace in Hyderabad is in the process of being demolished by the builder who purchased it from one of the trusts created by the last Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan. On Saturday evening, a portion of the palace has been razed and smoothened into flat ground with fresh earthmover marks. The old swimming pool, the well and the 101-room zenana (women’s quarters) have been left intact while the ceiling and walls were being pulled down using earthmovers. “The work has been going on for two days. Now we can hear the sound of earthmovers through the day and night,” said Ramakrishna, a resident whose home overlooks the palace.
The guards manning the structure remained tight-lipped about the deployment of earthmovers. Satellite imagery shows the destruction the complex suffered due to negligence and lack of maintenance between May 2020 and May 2021.
The Nazri Bagh is a listed heritage structure No. 48 classified as II-B category under Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority Regulation 13. The Usman Mansion which was part of the complex was demolished earlier. “Though it is a heritage property it can be bought and sold. But the builder cannot modify the structure without the permission of Heritage Conservation Committee. But Hyderabad still doesn’t have a HCC,” said Sajjad Shahid of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage. “The HCC needs to fulfill the criterion laid down by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs,” said Mr. Shahid.
