Historical Secunderabad Clock Tower - one of the oldest ones in India

Secunderabad Clock Tower tourmet.com

Secunderabad Clock Tower,Wikimedia Commons

Secunderabad Clock Tower, built on a land measuring 10 acres (4.0 ha)  is one of the oldest clock towers in India. Constructed in 1860,  the structure was inaugurated on 1 February 1897.

A firman issued by Nizam Sikandar Jah to build the city of Secunderabad, named after him in 1806 and it is close to Hyderabad, now the administrative capital of Telengana (carved out of Andhra State in the recent past).  The erstwhile British government established 10 acres (4.0 ha) of land  in 1860 to honor the British military stationed Secunderabad. On this plot was built a 120-ft high clock tower in a park of  2.5 acres (1.0 ha) in 1896. The donor of the clock was one Dewan Bahadur Seth Lachmi Narayan Ramgopal, a businessman  and the The tower was inaugurated  by British Resident Sir Trevor John Chichele Plowden on 1 February 1897 and the work was completed in 1896. 

Secunderabad Clock Tower, thehansindia.com/

In 2003, this old clock face near demolition, a wrong decision taken by the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad to accommodate the increasing traffic. However, after long persuasion by the people interested in preserving old monuments and heritage sites; the idea of demolition was dropped by the Municipal Corporation.  In 2006, the park housing the tower was chosen for renovation by the state agency. A sum of Rs. one crore was spent on renovation and the size of the park was reduced to  to widen the road to avoid traffic bottlenecks. Additional steps were made to landscape the area adjacent to the Clock Tower  with lawn, hedges, etc., to improve the ambiance. A water fountain had been installed. Renovation of the park and the tower was completed in 2005  and the inauguration was done in 2006 under the patronage of the then CM (of undivided Andhra Pradesh) Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy. Proposals are afoot to seek UNESCO Heritage status for the old clock which was the subject of logo when 200 year celebrations  of the formation of Secunderabad were organised by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. 

Tit-Bits:

01. In 1896, the work on the Secunderabad clock was over and at that time  Sir Trevor's daughter Pamela was carrying on a romantic  affair with none other than Winston Churchill (later Sir Winston Churchill, famous India baiter and who had the least liking for Gandhiji. He never agreed to give freedom to India).  Ms. Pamela didn't marry him for the simple reason 
that he had no dough; literally, Sir. Win was broke.

02.  The donor of the clock  Dewan Bahadur Ramgopal Seth is still in our midst.  Dewan Bahadur Ramgopal Mills and Ramgopalpet remind us of his valuable donation.  

-The Hindu Newspaper
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secunderabad_Clock_Tower

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secunderabad_Clock_Tower