Turner's Choultry begs for attention

Visakhapatnam: With transformation of a city, the need for essential social infrastructure becomes self-evident.

The Turner's Choultry in Visakhapatnam from 1890s is one such building, which was started to provide a lodging facility at nominal prices, for people who visited the city.

But the historic edifice, which served crores of people in its heady days, is presently in a somewhat altered condition and is seeking the attention of government authorities. The site for this rectangular building, which houses a huge central courtyard, was gifted by Maharaja Gode Narayana Gajapathi Row.

Pusapati Ananda Gajapathi Raju donated Rs 10,000, others contributed to raise about a total of Rs 43,000 for the construction.

Recalling the history, Mr. Edward Paul, a heritage conservationist, said, “There was a sudden burst of growth of Visakhapatnam city during the last decade of the 19th century with the construction of Railways and the Government Civil Hospital (the present King George Hospital), which brought a large number of people to the city. There arose a need to have a choultry for middle class people, which paved the way for the construction of this choultry. The heritage building features a grand entrance lobby with wooden posts on either side. There are 24 rooms on either side of the central courtyard with a corridor running around.”

“It was the Rajah of Bobbili who made a proposal to construct a choultry, as a memorial to the late H.G. Turner, a former district Collector, and requested the other zamindars and public to contribute,” he said.

“Initially named as Turner's Chattram, another block was constructed by Akella Suryanarayan Rao, a lawyer and a former Municipal chairman, in memory of his parents in 1916,” Mr said.

The land of the choultry was then known by the name of Enugula Thota, where the military used to keep and train the elephants.

The building which was opened in 1898 was a money spinner for Visakhapatnam Corporation before handing it over to the Endowments Department in 1975.

The once-celebrated building is today only hosting small functions.

The renovation work also came to a halt due to cash crunch, leaving the edifice in a shabby state.