The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : State rejects pleas to protect heritage

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Tuesday, Jun 28, 2011
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

State rejects pleas to protect heritage

Pavithra S. Rangan

GO de-notifies Montgomery Hotel saying ‘the building has no special character'

‘Architects who know nothing about heritage suggest structure has outlived its heritage value'
De-notification of Adil Alan Mansion, Victoria Zenana reflect State's approach towards heritage

— PHOTO: G. RAMAKRISHNA

Left to rot: The Montgomery Hotel building lies neglected by both its present owners and the State government.

HYDERABAD: It has inscribed on itself the life of a culture that existed over 130 years ago. Its gothic-traceried windows, steep-pitched roofs with wooden bracings and imposing European facade have narrated stories of the years long gone to bystanders.

On the busy street corner of Parklane, the Montgomery Hotel has through time gained the sobriquet, Monty's Bar.

Court intervenes

The future of Monty's Bar hangs in balance now as the owners want to demolish the building after it was de-notified from the list of heritage structures. Mercifully, the High Court had stepped in and stayed the demolition.

A case filed by the Heritage Conservation Committee (HCC) to re-notify the building is now underway.

Insensitive attitude

With the State having the power to veto the HCC's recommendations, the committee currently has no teeth. “It is only to protect the city's heritage that this expert body was formed. Officials have to respect the decisions of the committee, because arbitrary action and insensitive attitude of the State will only lead to the loss of valuable heritage,” said Vedakumar, president, Forum for Better Hyderabad.

Although the Monty's bar is a breathing epitome of collective memory of the past century, the government order on its de-notification maintained that “the building has no special character or façade”.

“Architects who know nothing about heritage suggest that these structures have outlived their heritage value. The State, which ought to protect heritage structures, is de-notifying them, paying no heed to the decisions of the committee,” rued Sajjad Shahid, member of the HCC.

Monsoon blow

The Monty's Bar is not the first of its kind to have met such fate. De-notification of the historical Adil Alan Mansion and Victoria Zenana reflect the State's approach towards its heritage.

“Owners of Monty's today are waiting for the building to fall so they can carry their commercial activities without hindrance. Imminent monsoons will only facilitate falling of the structure,” said K. Anuradha Reddy, Convenor, Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH).

“Unless it is re-notified and steps to renovate the structure are undertaken, we will lose yet another heritage structure, ” she rues.

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