SCB to display rare shots of Secunderabad

HYDERABAD: Rare photographs of locales and structures in Secunderabad, some dating back to the early 19th century, will soon adorn the walls of the main hall of Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) headquarters.
SCB authorities came across nearly 40 photographs of areas, buildings and water bodies within its jurisdiction during digitisation of records and decided to put these up on display to showcase the history of the Cantonment area.
Apart from the Residency House in Bolarum (now Rashtrapati Nilayam), there are photographs of the Court House in Secunderabad (now SCB main office), Cantonment General Hospital in Bolarum (an upcoming 30-bed general hospital), Parade Ground, Hasmathpet Lake (Bapuji Nagar), Picket Cheruvu (now Picket Garden), Public Rooms in Secunderabad (now Secunderabad Club), Masonic Lodge with Picket Tank, James Street (MG Road), Transport Road at Karkhana, Flag Staff Road, Trimulgherry Entrenchment and a general view of the Trimulgherry area.
A vintage Victorian wall clock dating back to 1747 AD would also adorn the SCB office walls. Special lighting has been arranged for a better view of the pictures during night.
“Instead of confining these pictures to archives, we decided to exhibit them to highlight the significance and life in the Cantonment in the 18th century. We spent Rs 2.50 lakh on the interior designing. The picture galleries are likely to be inaugurated next month,” an SCB official told TOI.
However, a major letdown would be the height at which these photographs have been placed in the galleries. “Though authorities spent lakhs of rupees, the centuries-old photos cannot be viewed properly as their size is small,” P Sathish, a resident of Trimulgherry, said.