Paigah Palace in Begumpet gets a new lease of life

Once known as Devdi Iqbal-ud-Dowla, this palace was part of a grand cluster built by Paigah nobleman Vicar-ul-Umra along the Musi river, on the fringes of the Hussainsagar. Today, as a part of another palace, Devdi Nasir Nawaz Jung, faces demolition, another is being brought back to life: the Paigah Palace.

Between 1981 and 2008, the palace complex housed the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA) office when the Outer Ring Road was taking shape. The erstwhile undivided Andhra Pradesh government acquired it from the Court of Wards, after paying compensation to the Paigahs. But HUDA officials threw a fit, saying they did not want to work from a place so far from the city. Between 2008 and 2023, the building was transformed into a secure facility with bunkers, bullet-proof glass and reinforced facade.

Restoration works under way at Iqbal ud Dowla Devdi or Paigah Palace in Begumpet, Hyderabad.
| Video Credit:
SERISH NANISETTI