Tarnaka: From grape gardens to a bustling centre

Tarnaka is a major residential suburb in Hyderabad. Until the IT boom hit Hyderabad, this place was one of the most serene areas to reside, with large bungalows and villas. The huge mango, gulmohar, Ashoka and tamarind trees spread over the roads had provided shade to commuters. Old timers note that Tarnaka was well planned and organised. At the turn of the new millennium — with IT revolution hitting the city resulting in large influx of population and settlers — the area swelled with many apartments and commercial buildings transforming the area.

The name of the area is a combination of two words. In Urdu, ‘Tar’ means wire or cable and ‘naka’ means check post. There used to be a telegraph office where people came to send telegrams to far off places. So people used to refer to the area as Tar-Naka ( ‘Tar’ also means telegram and ‘Naka’ is an office). There is still a BSNL office at the junction.

Tarnaka used to have a vineyard during Nizams’ period. It was a horticulture and agriculture area till 1980s, famously known for grape gardens. Former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Chenna Reddy was a resident of Tarnaka. St Ann's School was a landmark till a few decades back; it was a white building, hence the area was also called ‘White House’. An area called Kimtee colony, now a posh area, got its name from erstwhile Marwadi families whose surname was Kimtee. They formed the layouts in the 1960s.

The area was predominately dominated by Tamils (Mudaliar community) a few decades back. The Mudaliars, who were camp followers of the British, made immense contribution to the growth of education and healthcare.

Commercial Hub

The entire area has big shopping malls like Big Bazaar along with grocery stores, public and private sector banks, educational institutions and other businesses. Aradhana 70 mm theatre is one of the major theatres in the area.

Problems

Banda Karthika Reddy, former Mayor of the GHMC, said though Tarnaka had developed in a big way, there was a need to widen the road to meet the growing inflow and outflow of traffic. A representation was given and a resolution was passed to widen the roads in 1985 by the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH).

The AP Dairy Development Corporation (Vijaya Dairy), which is now located in the core area of Tarnaka, is polluting the residential area due to smoke and industrial pollutants leading to airborne diseases. Many representations were given to the government from time to time by the locals and the public representatives to relocate the dairy to ensure the health and well being of the residents, but nothing has been done till date. The old drainage system laid 30 years ago at Lalapet to Lalaguda, needs to be widened with a new drainage line to prevent overflow during the rainy season. The Metro Rail from Nagole-Mettuguda will hopefully reduce the burden of traffic at Tarnaka.