South Central Railway restores 200-year-old heritage well in Secunderabad

The project for the restoration of the well, with a depth of about 50 feet, was taken up for Rs 6 lakh. The well is yielding one lakh litres of water every day.

According to SCR, the well was used for irrigating mango gardens in the pre-Independence era by Sir Mir Turab Ali Khan, Salar Jung I, who was then the prime minister of the Nizam. Ten rooms were also constructed along the well for the staff given the responsibility of irrigating the garden.

In 1966, SCR inherited the well and over the last five decades, it has been catering to the water requirements of the training institute, a statement from the Railways said.

Arun Kumar Jain, General Manager, SCR, said the revived heritage well will adequately serve all the domestic water requirements of ZRTI and the surrounding offices like the supervisors’ training centre and territorial camp office. Officials expect to save around Rs 5 lakh a month.

The well has now been covered with nylon mesh to keep the water clean and prevent leaves and other materials from falling into it. Manual chlorination is also being done to ensure the supply of uncontaminated water.

This is the second well that has been restored by SCR after the Salarjung well in Moula Ali in 2016.