7 Sep, 2008 0335hrs IST TNN
HYDERABAD: A prominent landmark of the city, Tipu's Outlook,
located in the now demolished Sant Nirankari Bhavan near Lakdi-ka-pul will
disappear soon if the government does not come forward to protect it
immediately.
With the reconstruction of the bhavan underway there is every possibility that
the monument, which is more than 100 years old and listed in Claude Campbell's
famous book, 'Glimpses of The Nizam's Dominions' (published in 1898), could be
destroyed, conservation activist Sajjad Shahed said.
Heritage Conservation Committee member Shushil Kumar has taken up the matter
with HCC. "I have received a note from Sajjad which I have forwarded to
the HCC with the request to declare it a heritage monument soon," he said.
According to Shahed, Tipu in this case could be Tipu Khan, the noble of the
Nizams, who constructed a bridge near Golconda. However, the style of
architecture of the Tipu's Outlook, however, resembles those of Qutb Shahi
times. There is a stone staircase constructed on three ascending arches that
lead up to an enclosure on a hillock with a commanding view of the city towards
Khairtabad side.
It could have been an observation tower that was in use during the siege of
Golconda by the Mughal army, he opined.
The structure later became part of the house of Liyaqat Jung whose son
Brigadier Taufique worked for the Nizam's army and served as chief of his guard
after the merger of Hyderabad State with the Indian Union.