A portion of the right wing of Nampally Serai (resthouse) collapsed on Saturday at 3.30 p.m. According to officials, one person fractured his leg as the ceiling of the abandoned building caved in.
“The jack arch roof had rusted and weakened due to continuous rain, and it collapsed. We are going to get a structural stability study done before deciding the next course of action,” Additional Commissioner, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Musharraf Ali Faruqui said.
He supervised the rescue operation when there was buzz that two persons were buried under the debris. “The GHMC has handed over the building to Hyderabad Metro Rail. It is under their care,” said Mr. Faruqui. After using earthmovers to move the debris, police officials declared the area safe.
“People here kept insisting that two persons were buried under it so we brought in the earthmovers to clear the debris quickly. But after two hours, we didn’t find anyone there,” said a police official.
The abandoned building, which at one time functioned as a rest house, then as a GHMC office, is now used by taxi drivers of the locality to park their vehicles. “At about 3.30 p.m., we heard a loud thud and ran out to see what it was. We pulled out one person by moving aside the bricks and he was rushed in an ambulance to Osmania General Hospital,” said Muhammad Riyaz, a cab driver from Abids, who was part of the initial rescue effort.
Built at the turn of the last century by Tipu Khan, the equestrian trainer of sixth Nizam Mir Mahbub Ali Khan, the serai was a free resting place. Tipu Khan also built a masjid adjacent to the serai. While the masjid has survived, the serai has fallen victim to the vagaries of time.
The area had become a haunt for hobos as a GHMC food truck is parked close by. “People would have the ₹5 meal and then sleep for some time before getting on with their work. We want the GHMC officials to give an alternative site where we can park our vehicles,” said Fareed, another cab driver.
