Hyderabad’s Charkhandil junction all set to glow bright

A post with four lanterns is being installed at the junction keeping in mind the historical account of the junction

Hyderabad: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation is taking up beautification of the iconic landmark the ‘charkhandil’, junction of the city. A post with four lanterns is being installed at the junction keeping in mind the historical account of the junction.

The works are being taken at a budget of Rs 25 lakh and the works are expected to be completed soon. A steel fence has been put around the rotary and different posts installed within the boundary. “In the centre there will be a post with four lanterns. Soon the works will be completed and the junction will lit up using LED lights,” said GHMC (engineering) Assistant Engineer, A Vijay.

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On December 22, 2024 Telangana Today had carried an articles about the historical account the ‘charkhandil junction’ and the highlighted the demand of the local people who wanted it to developed on lines of Gulzar Houz.

‘Khandil’ is the Urdu term for lantern. The numeral four in Urdu means ‘char’ so the term charkhandil.

During Nizam era, the authorities to illuminate the roads hung lanterns at important junctions in the city. A staffer from the local municipality then was assigned the task of lighting the lanterns in the evening. It is said the assigned person would move around different areas on a bicycle and lighting the lantern using a torch (mashal). At the charkhandil junction there were four lanterns that illuminated the junction and the road in night.

Every residential cluster had a man to do the job in the evenings. The practice continued even after the Nizam era ended and electric lights were installed on the poles on the roads, explained Mohd Safiullah, a historian.