Call for Rebuilding YMCA Narayanguda in Old Style to Protect Heritage
HYDERABAD: The then BRS government razed the over-a-century-old building at the YMCA’s Narayanguda campus following the GHMC’s multiple missives citing structural issues.
“The earlier government demolished a beautiful structure and set up a tin shed,” said Anuradha Reddy from Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH).
The beautiful two-storey mansion in the Indo-Saracenic architecture style was built for a nawab in 1915. However, the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), a Switzerland-based international organisation, which already had a branch in Secunderabad, acquired the building at Narayanguda to set up a branch in Hyderabad. It also had a hostel and a guest house.
A team of heritage conservationists and engineers, who prepared the ‘structural condition assessment report’ of the YMCA building, said that the building was structurally good but suggested some repairs and partial reconstruction to restore it to its original glory.
The two-storey building had a substructure consisting of stone masonry for supporting load-bearing walls made of red burnt brick wall in lime mortar. The roof of the ground floor and the first floor was made in jack-arch style in lime mortar, according to the structural condition assessment report.
They accused the previous BRS government of demolishing a heritage structure without any serious grounds, and urged the new Congress government to reconstruct the YMCA Hyderabad building in the old Indo-Saracenic architecture.
Before it was demolished, the building was used as an administrative block and a venue for holding meetings or playing indoor games like table tennis and carroms.
“I used to play table tennis there. Many people like me were disappointed due to its demolition,” said T. Mohit, a resident of Barkatpura.
Kristu Kumar, former basketball national player, said the renovation work is taking a long time.
“Several sportspersons who were on practice had to take a break after its demolition. In the course of time, many people left the sports field,” he said, adding that the razing of the heritage building proved to be bad for budding sportspeople from localities around Narayanguda..
“There is a plan to rebuild the demolished structure, but it is under litigation. So the work can commence only after the legal fight ends,” said a sports enthusiast. Currently, the YMCA campus has a basketball court and volleyball court.