Marredpally: forest turned bustling hub

Marredpally, located in the North Zone of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits and partially in SCB limits, is a locality with culturally diverse population. It is divided into East Marredpally and West Marredpally.

The area is well developed with parks, colonies, schools, hospitals, function halls, temples, mosques, petrol bunks, fitness centres, beauty parlours, supermarkets and banks. Marredpally Police Station is a historical landmark, which was built in 1877 during the British rule. Shenoy Nursing Home is one of the oldest and famous hospitals, and is run by the Shenoy family. The building was built in 1965 with a Buddha statue installed in front.

The GHMC playground opposite the hospital is another popular landmark. On holidays, residents practice cricket and stage matches on the ground. Also, a lot of annual parades by schools, select exhibitions and events of public importance are held at the premises. The other landmarks are the Government Institute of Electronics, which was opened in the year1981; Geetha Nursing Home which was opened in 1983 by Dr J Geetha Reddy; St John’s Baptist Church in 1813 and The Deccan Club in 1900, etc.

Notable residents such as Rakesh Sharma, first Indian to go to space in 1984; late Chief Justice N Kumarayya, a judge of international tribunal at the World Bank; late Mudigonda Markandeya, retired district sessions judge and late cricketer ML Jaisimha are known to have lived here. Sarvey Satyanarayana, former minister for R&B, also resides here.

History
In the 1940s and 1950s, Marredpally area was a hilly forest. In 1964, the first major development was the opening of Shenoy Nursing Home. For the next 25 years there was no other hospital or dispensary nearby. During the late 1950s, government authorities constructed houses called TIT blocks and sold it at subsidised rates to government employees. Large pieces of land near Geeta Nursing Home were sold to IAS and IPS officers and a few other businessmen. Other parts were developed by the then Military Cantonment Board and named as ‘Married Officers Colony’.

In the course of time ‘Married Officers Colony’ was called Marred Palle by the locals as it was convenient to say. It was also home to many Anglo-Indians. The Yadavs were landlords, but in the early 70s settlers from Tamil Nadu, North India and Coastal Andhra arrived and began living here.

In the 90s, with the demolition of ancestral houses that stood for over 100 years and construction of apartment complexes, the area became a bustling hub, leaving little place for the poor that lived next door in Addagutta, a large slum, next only to Mumbai’s Dharavi.

Transport
The RTC connects Marredpally to many parts of the city. Bus numbers 38EX, 38X, 38T, 38S connect East Marredpally to Malkajgiri, Addagutta, Tukaram Gate, Hanumanpet, Mallikarjuna Nagar, Goutam Nagar, Safilguda from Secunderabad Railway Station. Bus number 34 connects to ECIL X Roads via East Marredpally, Shenoy and AOC. Bus numbers 37, 37X, 37E, 37S, connects to Sainikpuri, RK Puram, Neredmet, ECIL X Roads, etc. The closest MMTS Station is 1.2 kilometres away at Secunderabad. Begumpet Railway Station is 5 kilometres away. The Metro Rail Project has come up next to St Ann’s High School.

Education
Marredpally is home to some of the oldest schools--St Patrick's High School, St Ann's High School, St John's Church High School, St Mary's High School, Secunderabad Public School, Kotwal School and St Marks High School. Kasturba Gandhi Women's College, which is the oldest and most popular women's college, is also located here. Now a lot of new schools throng the area namely Kennedy Vidya Bhavan, St Andrew’s High School, Delhi Public School (DPS), Auxilium, etc. Marredpally is also home to the lauded Bhavishya Montessori School.

The major colonies include Teacher's Colony in the East, LIC Colony, Syndicate Bank Colony, SBH Colony, Railway Colony in the west.

Problems
Dr Vidya Devi Shenoy, 91, founder of Shenoy Nursing Home, said, “There is a need for widening the existing roads to ensure smooth flow of traffic. The drainage lines are very old and needs to be replaced.”