Hyderabad: Demands are being made for relaxing night restrictions at the historic monument of Charminar and converting it into an ‘all night recreational spot’ in the city.
Hundreds of people have been visiting the 16th-century historic edifice of the city late at night for the last few years to enjoy the serene and soothing ambience.
“Visiting Charminar at that time is quite a traumatizing experience with a lot of noise and air pollution around. So we prefer to visit during the night, the bad thing is the cops send us away at the stroke of 12 midnight,” complained Manjulu, a call centre employee from Secunderabad.
Citizens are avoiding visiting Charminar in the daytime because there is a lot of business activity around the monument and it is very hectic and crowded.
Visitors start dropping at the monument from 10.30 p.m onwards and take a stroll around the monument and visit nearby allies to have street food. “Compared to daytime there is a lot of open space where people can sit comfortably and spend quality time with friends and families,” pointed out Satish Kumar, a resident of Yousufguda who came to the monument along with his friends.
Families, professionals and students staying in hostels from far-off places come to Charminar during the nights with some even celebrating birthdays near the monument. Tourists also visit in small batches after coming to know about the late-night ambience through social media platforms and news portals.
To the dismay of many the police drop in sharp at 12 midnight and chase away the visitors. “Asking visitors who come to enjoy the lovely ambience of Charminar to leave sharp at midnight is not proper. The government should allow people to hang around till 2 am,” said Jyothi Kumari, a resident of Chikkadpally.
People question that when the authorities can allow discos and pubs to run till 1 a.m on weekends, what’s wrong with allowing people at Charminar? “The place is covered by surveillance cameras and I don’t think security should be an issue,” said a software professional from Banjara Hills.
The state government had proposed to set up a night bazaar and promote nightlife around the monument (Charminar). However, the proposal is pending due to a lack of wholehearted efforts of the local public representatives or officials.
When contacted, a police official on condition of anonymity said during the night there is a lot of work for the police to undertake at night and they do not have any personnel to patrol the area.
“Hundreds of people will be there if night activity is allowed. Bandobast is to be arranged to ensure the safety of the visitors. More so the area is highly sensitive considering the presence of more than two temples, three big mosques and a chilla there,” he said.
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