Saifabad Palace
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| Saifabad Palace | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Location within Telangana | |
| Alternative names | Sarvahita (G-Block) |
| General information | |
| Status | Demolished |
| Type | Royal Palace |
| Architectural style | European |
| Location | Hyderabad, India |
| Coordinates | 17°24′36″N 78°28′08″E / 17.4099°N 78.4690°E |
| Completed | 1888 |
| Opened | 1940 |
| Demolished | 2020 |
| Client | Nizam of Hyderabad |
| Owner | Government of Telangana |
Saifabad Palace (commonly known as Sarvahita (G-Block)) was a palace in the city of Hyderabad, Telangana, India.[1] Built in 1885 by Mahboob Ali Khan, the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad, it served as the seat of government for various Indian states until its demolition in 2020.[2][3]
History[edit]
Saifabad Palace was built in 1888 during the reign of sixth Nizam of Hyderabad, Mahbub Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VI.[4] However, when the Nizam went to visit the palace, two local nobles successfully conspired to deter the Nizam from occupying the palace by having a Monitor lizard, a sign of bad luck in his path, cross his path. The Nizam then locked the palace up.[5]
In the 1940s, it was re-opened to house the government of the Hyderabad princely state (1910-1948), the state of Hyderabad (1948-1956), Andhra Pradesh (1956-2014) and Telangana (2014-2020).[2][5]
Demolition[edit]
In 2011, there was a plan to demolish the palace and build a bigger office in its palace but the plan was shelved after opposition from the people.[6]
In November 2016, K. Chandrashekar Rao, the chief minister of Telangana proposed demolishing the palace because it was unlucky for reportedly not following the architectural principles of Vaastu. Rao believed that Telangana will suffer for having the building house its government, and only visits the building for cabinet meetings. Rao asked the state governor to tell N. Chandrababu Naidu, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh to vacate the building so it can be demolished and replaced with a Vaastu-compliant structure. The demolition was placed on hold after a petition to the Hyderabad high court by an opposition legislator.[5][7]
In July 2020, the place was demolished to accommodate a new secretariat for the state of Telangana.[2] Apart from Sarvahita (G-Block), the age old stone structure, Mint Compound, which housed the power department offices was also razed.[8]
References[edit]
- ^ "Hyderabad: Saifabad palace to be razed for new Secretariat complex".
- ^ a b c Akbar, Syed (8 July 2020). "Telangana: Glorious Saifabad Palace now a pile of rubble". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
- ^ "Historic Saifabad Palace is being razed to rubbles". The Siasat Daily. 7 July 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
- ^ "The fairy tale life of Mahbub Ali".
- ^ a b c "The 'unlucky' building spooking an Indian minister". BBC News. 7 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
- ^ "Hyderabad Greens.org - Heritage Cell Activities". Retrieved 29 July 2011.
- ^ TS, Sudhir (29 October 2016). "History disappears in Hyderabad, KCR to tear down century-old palace for Vaastu". The News Minute.
- ^ "Saifabad Palace, Mint Compound of Telangana Secretariat are history: Heritage activist Sajjad Shahid".