With the hitherto out-of-bounds Rashtrapati Nilayam tucked away in the high security Cantonment area of Bolarum in Secunderabad opening for general public, there is heavy rush at the gates.
A large number of visitors, mostly schoolchildren, are thronging this heritage palace.
For the first time since Independence, Rashtrapati Nilayam was opened for public viewing from January 1, for 10 days with the initiative of President of India Pratibha Devisingh Patil. The President was here recently as part of her annual Southern sojourn in the winter.
The opening up of Rashtrapati Nilayam premises for general public is one of the President’s people-friendly initiatives. Earlier, the ‘Nature Trail’ in the premises of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, was launched for public.
The visitors now can have a glimpse of the recently inaugurated Herbal Garden in the premises of Rashtrapati Nilayam. The Herbal Garden has 116 species of medicinal and aromatic plants and the move is intended to bring in awareness about India’s rich heritage and diversity and also about medicinal values of various plants that grow widely in the surroundings and are useful for home remedy for many diseases.
The premises has a number of environment-friendly systems in place such as solar lights, drip irrigation system and percolation pond for efficient and judicious use of natural resources and fruit gardens have also been developed on an area of about 35 acres of land.
The History
The heritage palace was constructed by Nizam Nazir-ud-Dowla in 1860 and Sir Salar Jung was the Prime Minister. Bolarum was one of the military cantonments of the Nizam Government and the magnificent palace used to be the residence of chief military officer. Later, it was occupied by British Viceroys.
After Independence, it came under the control of Hyderabad Nizams again and after the merger of Hyderabad State with the Indian Union in 1950, the government took over the building and converted it into a resort for the stay of the President and christened it as Rashtrapati Nilayam.
The magnificent retreat has a built up area of 2500 sq m centrally located in a compound of around 90 acres of plush greenery. The main building comprises three wings--the president wing, family wing and ADC wing.
Three wings have 20 rooms, a cinema hall, state dining hall, and morning room and ADC dining room. All the rooms are of single-storeyed construction with Madras style roof at 20 to 25 feet in height, surrounded by-low level common verandah.
Most interesting feature of the Rashtrapathi Nilayam is the 50-metre long ventilated tunnel that links the state kitchen to the state dining hall. P B Narayana Murthy, who is in charge of the Rashtrapati Nilayam, said the tunnel was built for the safety of the Nizam, as he was worried that his food could be poisoned by his enemies. The premises also contain a 150-year old well still used for irrigating the vast lawns of the Nilayam.
Another historical structure that the visitors should not miss is the replica of flag post. The flag post was originally located in the residential complex. The flag post-cum-weather watch instrument, located behind the complex on the lawns on the north-west was erected in 1867. It was here the Prince Azam Jah handed over the Hyderabad state to Indian Union. However, only a replica is exhibited in the Cinema Hall in residential complex.
Southern retreat
The intention of locating Rashtrapati Nilayam at Secunderabad in southern India is to assess and understand various problems of the people who are located far away from the seat of power -- New Delhi.
So far, Dr Rajendra Prasad, Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, V V Giri,
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, Giani Zail Singh, R Venkataraman, Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma , K R Narayanan and A P J Abdul Kalam visited Hyderabad and stayed here. The present President visited and stayed here in 2007, 2008 and 2010.
The only other Presidential retreat is located in on the hill top of the Mashobra, in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. The building was taken over in 1895 by the Viceroy. The President visits The Retreat at least once a year and the core office shifts to that place during stay in The Retreat. Thousand feet higher than the Shimla Ridge Top, The Retreat is located in a picturesque surrounding. The architectural pattern and the natural beauty of the place have made The Retreat a tourist attraction in Shimla.
The redeeming feature of this building is that it is purely a wooden structure with dajji wall construction. Originally constructed in 1850, this building has a plinth area of 10,628 sq. ft.
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