Hyderabad: Sardar Mahal near Charminar to reopen for public after restoration next year

Restoration of the heritage Sardar Mahal near Charminar is in its final stages and is expected to be completed by April next year. The building will feature an art gallery, cafe and heritage accommodation, turning it into a new tourist attraction in the Old City

Hyderabad: Soon Sardar Mahal, the heritage palace on the eastern side of the Charminar, will be thrown open to the public.

The restoration works at the Sardar Mahal of the heritage structure are in the final phases and are expected to be completed by April next year. The heritage building will have an art gallery, cafe and heritage accommodation on the lines of Neemrana Fort Palace in Rajasthan.

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The Quli Qutb Shah Urban Development Authority (QQSUDA) is overseeing the restoration work taken up by the private firm. The State government had plans to revive the Sardar Mahal and add an art studio, a cultural centre along with a small cafe to make it a tourist hub once the work is finished. The project is being taken up at a cost of Rs 30 crores. Once completed, it would be one of the major attractions in the Old City.

“The works are going on at a brisk pace. It is expected to be completed by April next year. Afterwards, the building will be put to reuse,” said B Gopal, Chief Engineer, Quli Qutb Shah Urban Development Authority.

According to historians, Sardar Mahal was built in the European style by Nizam VI Mir Mahboob Ali Khan in 1900. Though Mahboob Ali Khan, the then ruler of Hyderabad State, built the palace for one of his beloved consorts, Sardar Begum, she refused to inhabit this token of love as it did not live up to her expectations. No one stayed there but the building took her name.

It was declared a heritage building by the Heritage Conservation Committee and the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) took over Sardar Mahal in 1965 due to outstanding property taxes.