Malakpet The spices and cereals hub

Malakpet is one of the oldest areas in the city and is divided into Old Malakpet and New Malakpet. Malakpet became a hub of wholesale markets for spices when the market was shifted from Mir Alam Mandi to Mehboob Gunj. There is a government meat market on Race Course Road.

The major landmarks are the popular Hyderabad Race Club and the historic Mehboob Mansion. Fakheeri Galli, which is a commercial street with all kinds of shops; Mehboob Gunj, where spices and cereals are sold at wholesale prices; Raymond's Tomb located at Asmangadh; Asmangadh Palace (now St Joseph's School); Malakpet Railway Station; Jammuna Tower; Masjid Idara Milya; Akbar Towers; Akbar Plaza and Shoeb Memorial Library are located here.

Major stores such as Cherma’s, Raymond’s, Reebok, Nike have their branches here. Automobile companies like Hyundai, Maruti, Hero Honda have outlets here. A large number of chain restaurants have been set up in Malakpet, including KFC, Domino’s, Baskin Robbin’s, Bowl O China, etc. Malakpet has quite a number of hospitals the major ones being Yashoda Hospital, Hyderabad Kidney Centre, Susrutha Hospital, Spark Eye Clinic and Farhat Nursing Home.

The Palmetum in the area is a botanical garden featuring only one family of plants, the palm. It was established in 2002 by the GHMC and attracts walkers and visitors from around the city.

History

Malakpet was a small village during the Qutb Shahi rule. Sultan Abdulla Qutb Shah (1626-1672), the Golconda King, gifted it to his servant Malik Yakoob in appreciation of his service. Malik Yakoob built a beautiful house and a garden and lived there. Thus the village got its name Malikpet, which later came to be known as Malakpet. The sixth Nizam, Mir Mahboob Ali Khan, built a race course and also a palace called Mehboob Mansion, which is now in ruins.

M Vishnuvardhan Reddy, a former resident of Saleemnagar in the area, said, “Till the 1980s Mehboob Mansion was surrounded by big peepal and tamarind trees. You could often find deers, peacocks and other animals strutting around. Unfortunately, during the late Dr M Chenna Reddy’s tenure as the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, trees were hacked down in a large area to open a market and shopping complex, which is now known as Mehboob Gunj. The surrounding area has been entirely taken over by housing and commercial developments. In fact, some people claim that Mehboob Mansion is haunted.”

R Surender Reddy, chairman of the Hyderabad Race Club, said, “Horse racing in Hyderabad was started by the Nizam Asaf Jah VI in 1868 at Moula Ali. In those days the races were called Deccan races and later the Hyderabad races. In 1886 the racing shifted to Malakpet by the Nizam VI as he wanted the race course to be near his palace. Hyderabad Race Club started its operations in 1961 in Secunderabad and shifted to Malakpet in 1968 when the racing was revived under Hyderabad Race Club.”

Developments

Work on the Metro Rail Project is on in full swing. The main road has narrowed down considerably owing to the setting up of the metro line, and the GHMC is planning to widen it.

It is very easy to get to any part of the city from the Malakpet Railway Station. Additionally, the regular RTC, Setwin and autos ply from Malakpet to other parts of the city.

As per 2011 census, the population of Malakpet is approximately 2.46 lakh and is spread over various colonies and basthis such as Professor's Colony, Government Quarters, Malakpet Colony, B- Blocks TV Tower, Asmangadh, Gandhi Nagar, Hamali Basti, Tirumala Hills, Gaddiannaram, Venkatadri Nagar, APAU Colony, Bhu Laxmi Nagar, Red Cross Society, Andhra Bank Colony, Revenue Board Colony, among others.