The watch tower being renovated using traditional methods with Rs 15 lakh
At last, the Tipu Khan Watch Tower, also known as Tipu’s Lookout, at Lakdi-ka-pul is getting a bit of attention.The 150-year-old tower, which was established to keep an eye on the entry of strangers into the city during the Nizam era, still offers a view of the Golconda Fort, Falaknuma Palace and Birla temple.The hillock on which it is situated was the highest point in the city at that point of time and listed in the A. Claude Campbell’s book ‘Glimpses of the Nizam’s Dominions’.After being neglected for long, the monument is now being renovated using traditional methods at a cost of Rs 15 lakh by Rajaratnam Ramaswamy of Shree Venkateshwara Estate. The architecture work is being supervised by Madhira R Madhav of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and Murali Krishna, a retired civil engineering professor from Osmania University. To fill the gaps in between rocks, a process called rock stitching is being used while cavities on the monument are being filled with lime water mixture. “The entry steps to the tower were damaged and cannot be restored as the place is lying between two properties,” Rajaratnam said.
(To know more about Tipu's LookOut, Please write to wafahmss@gmail.com)
*Wajahat Ahmed Khan, the great-grandson of Nawab Tipu Khan Bahadur (the builder of the --
1) Tipu Khan Sarai or 'Nampally Saraai', at Nampally Station Road,
2) Tipu's LookOut at Khairtabad,
3) Tipu Khan Bridge at Langer Houz in Hyderabad, India and
5 Mosques at Gowliguda Chaman, Nampally, Adikmet O.U.Campus, Shahalibanda near Charminar and Chatta Bazar near Nayapul, all in Hyderabad city).
Wajahat Ahmed Khan is indeed an equestrian professional. He is a passionate horse rider and actively participates in equestrian sports. Wajahat is a life member of both the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) and the Telangana State Equestrian Association (TSEA). His involvement in the sport reflects a family legacy tied to horsemanship, as his great-grandfather was a renowned horseman who taught horse riding to the Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah VI, Nawab Mir Mahboob Ali Khan, Nizam of Hyderabad and was considered one of the greatest Equestrians of his time in India).
