Hyderabad: While the announcement of the restoration of Moazam Jahi (MJ) Market by Principal Secretary Arvind Kumar drew a lot of cheer from city residents last year, the delay is a tale in itself. Officials now say that it was hasty to think the work would be completed in 3 months.
Talking about the intricacies of delay, Arvind said, “The roof is arch-shaped and we thought rain-proofing on top would suffice. But when we went there, the iron on which the arches were supported were rusted and could come down any day. It couldn’t have been done in three months, but the delay is not deliberate.
Even though the bricks were strong, the iron structure for the entire roof had to be replaced. That itself took about 10 months.” He said phase I of the restoration is likely to be completed by Diwali. “Underground cabling is taking time, but we are nearly done. We don’t use cement, but lime mortar.
It is sturdy and takes time to consolidate. We put a mortar plant there itself. The only thing remaining is the lighting and flooring. Our internal target is to complete it by October.” The restoration works on the mutton market side will be taken up in phase II.
The famous Bilal ice-cream market cannot block the common area which is available for use to everyone. In the common area, the furniture will be put up for which contributions will be sought. Lighting will be on heritage patterns, and shop name boards will be uniform.
Authored by Mohammed Hussain
mohammedhussain.reporter@gmail.com