Telangana’s pact with Aga Khan Trust to restore Saidanima tomb, Badshahi Asoorkhana, Sheikhpet Sarai

HYDERABAD: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), Telangana Department of Heritage, and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture to restore Saidanima Tomb, Badshahi Asoorkhana, and Sheikhpet Sarai.

Arvind Kumar, Telangana's principal secretary of municipal administration and urban development, announced the MoU on Twitter on Friday. He also said that the restoration of heritage monuments would commence soon.

Heritage activists in Hyderabad had previously expressed concern about the monument, which is near the Sailing Club. They even said that the damaged and abandoned Saidanima Tomb required immediate restoration and that if it was not refurbished soon, Hyderabad might lose this landmark.

Arvind Kumar, Special Chief Secretary, Urban Development, visited the Saidanima Tomb with its mutawalli (custodian), Zonal Commissioner, Secunderabad of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), and state heritage department officials in December 2022 and decided to restore the monument.

The historic tomb that was built for Nawab Abdul Haq Diler Jung's mother, Saidanima Saheba, around 1893. Diler Jung held a high position in the Nizam's administration during the reign of the 6th Nizam, H.H. Mir Mahbub Ali Khan Bahadur. Diler Jung was buried alongside his mother after his demise.