The restoration of Moazzam Jahi Market is a bittersweet tale. While the 120-day deadline has passed and nothing much has changed, the good news is that work has begun; albeit it is progressing in fits and starts.
It was on March 26, 8.02 a.m. that Arvind Kumar, Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration and Urban Development tweeted: “Based on the advice of Minister @KTRTRS, I am adopting #MJ Market for its complete #heritage restoration. Seen below is its present condition! My time frame is 3-4 months. Seeking suggestions & participation of #Hyderabadis in this effort.”
Four months down the line, the MJ Market appears the same but for a small change. Most of the flooring around the heritage site has been gouged out to lay storm water drains and electric cabling. The most visible change is the removal of gaudy signages that were installed over the old iron grill vegetal pattern inside the arch of the old entrance.
Standing near the corridor, Gangaraju, a fourth-generation vegetable shop vendor inside the market, points to the ceiling and says with a shrug: “They removed the plastering four days back but have not come back. It looks as if it might collapse any time now.”
“It’s a Jack Arch roof constructed using red clay bricks with intermediate steel girders supported on both sides by stone walls. The brick work of jack arches was plastered. The girders now have a rusted look and they have sagged a bit. It looks dangerous,” says Asif Ali Khan, a Hyderabad-based architect.
While some of the shops have been shuttered, work is yet to begin on the perfume shops girdling the market. “I have been told that we will have to make a few changes including the signboards. Business is down, hopefully it will improve once all this work is completed,” said Muhammad Sikander Ali, who owns a perfume shop at the site.
A rarity is also the fact that the secretary kept up regular social media briefings on the matter. On July 20, he tweeted with photographs: “An update on restoration of #MJMarket #Hyderabad - storm water drains, laying of UG cabling, water & sewer lines done.. scaffoldings now for roof repairs.. water proofing work on roof to commence shortly @KTRTRS”. The latest has been the Annual Report of MA&UD released on Wednesday, which pushes the time frame for restoration to 4 to 5 months.
