Taking nine years and costing around Rs.17 crores, the renowned British Residency at University College for Women, Koti, Osmania University (OU) has been restored to its former glory.
World Monuments Funds (WMF) funded the renovation of the British Residency that was inaugurated on Thursday by V Srinivas Goud, the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Archaeology.
A visit to the British Residency’s Durbar Hall and Museum followed the inauguration of the historic structure. The Minister was accompanied by dignitaries from the University.
WMF handed over the renovated British Residency building to the college management. WMF and the college signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), and from now on, the college will be responsible for maintaining the renovated structure.
Srinivas Goud was quoted as saying that the British Residency would be promoted as a must-visit tourist attraction, reflecting Hyderabad’s rich history. The Minister pointed out that Telangana had renovated several historical sites, including Budhavanam at Nagarjunasagar.
It is likely that the monument will be opened to the public in May, and all tickets must be bought online a day in advance in order to limit the number of visitors there each day.
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Residency’s history
This building was constructed after the British and the second Nizam of Hyderabad (1762-1803) signed a treaty in 1798, allowing the British to settle here.
It was essentially the first major British authority or building in Hyderabad. This was the case up to 1947 when the British left, and it wasn’t until September 1948 (following Hyderabad being annexed to India by Operation Polo) that it came under the eventual state government, which decided to hand it over to Osmania University.
James Achilles Kirkpatrick, who was married to Khairunnisa, the daughter of a local nobleman, was the British resident who signed the Treaty of Subsidiary Alliance with the Nizam.
A scale model of the British Residency is said to have been built for Khairunnisa, who observed purdah, by Kirkpatrick. In 1978, a tree fell on the scale model, damaging it. The model has since been restored.
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