Hyderabad: The nearly century-old Mississippi aircraft hangar, which served as a bus station for long at Gowliguda, is rusting. The hanger, imported from Butler Manufacturing Company in the 1930s, served as a first bus depot of the Nizam’s Road Transport Department.
The old CBS hangar is part of the rich heritage of transport of the Nizam era. It was the first pre-fabricated structure to be installed in Hyderabad, said historian M.A. Qayyum. “It was later converted into a full-fledged bus station till the new one was constructed on the Imliban side of the river Musi,” he said.
The hangar is not well taken care of. “The metal surface has got damaged extensively and chunks have ripped off. The roof, too, has developed big cracks,” said heritage activist S,Q. Masood.
Intach member Anuradha Reddy said the structure was originally meant for the maintenance of aircraft. “The seventh Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, utilised it for his fleet of public transport buses manufactured by Albion Automotive of Glasgow. The huge aircraft hangar was brought by sea, transported to Hyderabad and reassembled at Gowliguda. A similar was installed at the Begumpet airport for aircraft,” she said.
Ms Reddy said that the poor maintenance of the Gowliguda hanger had resulted in its poor condition. “There were three big hangers imported over a period of time. The one at the Gowliguda was the biggest while two others were installed at Ranigunj,” she said.
