SCB elevated corridor: British-era pump house at Balamrai demolition imminent

The historic Balamrai pump house in Secunderabad, built during the British era, is set to be demolished for the SCB elevated corridor. Despite serving thousands and running on solar power, the unlisted heritage structure will be replaced by new infrastructure

Hyderabad: A landmark structure, the British-era Balamrai pump house is set to be razed soon to make way for the SCB elevated corridor. The decision comes as part of the ongoing infrastructure development in the area.

The SCB authorities have stated that the demolition is necessary for the progress of the corridor project, which aims to ease traffic congestion. The pump house, which has stood for decades, will be dismantled in the coming months.

Located near Paradise Circle Metro station on NH-44, the pump house, which historically quenched the thirst of British troops and Secunderabad Cantonment residents, is set to make way for the proposed elevated corridor between Paradise Circle and Dairy Farm (Suchitra Junction).

The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) completed the demarcation of the affected portion of the pump house following a joint inspection by officials from SCB, HMDA and Defence Estates Office.

The Balamrai pump house, built during the pre-Independence period, will lose a significant portion of its land as part of road widening for the elevated corridor. Spread over 2.6 acres, the pump house houses equipment with a capacity of 5.5 lakh gallons, a water pumping system, and a filling station.

The pump house was constructed using coursed rubble (CRS) masonry, and since its commissioning, no leakages have been reported. The water pump sets and network, imported during the British regime, are operating without a single complaint.

In 2015, it became the first water pump house in the SCB to install an 80-kilowatt solar power plant, and the pumping system continues to operate solely on this solar power.

Nearly a dozen residential colonies within SCB Ward II and III, including Balamrai, Picket, part of Mudfort, and Rasoolpura, along with adjoining areas, receive potable water from it.

“According to SCB records, 8,000 consumers are receiving water from the pump house. HMDA is constructing another reservoir with an increased capacity of 6 lakh gallons on the rear side of the pump house, and civil works have already begun,” SCB water wing superintendent, S Raj Kumar, told ‘Telangana Today‘.

Waterline network works have already commenced on the Gymkhana Grounds and works for the reservoir and water line will be completed in another six months, and then the existing Balamrai Pump House will be razed, he said.

Interestingly, the Balamrai pump house was not notified as a heritage structure, and city-based historians have expressed concerns over the loss of the century-old heritage structure in Hyderabad.