Dhoolpet: Where artisans and drug peddlers co-exist

Dhoolpet Where artisans and drug peddlers co-exist

Dhoolpet is one of the old suburbs of the city. It is located at Old City near Afzalgunj. The area is notorious for bootlegging gudamba and ganja. The area has witnessed many attacks on policemen and excise department officials during raids. The area is a popular for its Ganesh idols. People here engage in seasonal businesses like making of Durga idols for Dasara, kites for Sankranti and rakhi for Rakshabandhan.

The major landmarks here are the 700-year-old Mohandas Mutt that is similar to the Jagannath temple at Puri and the 500-year-old Jali Hanuman mandir which Aurangazeb visited and did not kill anyone as, locals believe, Lord Hanuman spoke to him. The beautiful arch Baitul Mazureen adjacent to it was a famous mosque called Masjid Ahmed.

Dhoolpet is well connected by TSRTC buses. The closest MMTS station is at Uppuguda and railway station is at Nampally. It is 15 kilometres away from the Secunderabad Railway Station and 25 kilometres away from the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.

History
According to locals, this place was inhabited by migrants from Uttar Pradesh during the Nizam’s rule. Few people from the Ambe region of Allahabad came to the south hundreds of years ago as part of an elite fighting force led by Aurangazeb to fight the Marathas commanded by Chatrapati Shivaji. The majority of artisans here belong to the Lodha dynasty.

Most of the craftsmen of Dhoolpet are Lodhas who say “Loha ke jaise ladne wale Lodha bante hai” (fighters who are strong as iron become Lodhas). While some of them worked in the armies of the Asaf Jahi dynasty, their descendents took to the crafts such as making idols, kites, charaks, manja, wooden furniture, etc. The area’s tiny lanes are dotted by rows of makeshift shacks that display many Ganesha idols. The name Dhoolpet is said to be derived from ‘dhool’, meaning dust.

World War II refugees brought the illegal gudamba trade to Dhoolpet in the early 1940s, justifying it as an easy way to make quick money.

The Jummerat Bazaar, once a pearl and diamond market, has now turned into a weekly flea market where most of the items sold are said to be either stolen or second hand. This market comes alive every Thursday morning at 4 am and concludes at 3 pm. In fact people begin setting up their wares on Wednesday night. One can get almost everything from a tiny pack of needles, pins and buttons for just Re 1 to huge items such as decorated horse carts and other large items at throwaway prices. Electronic goods, steel items, wooden furniture, old currency, gym equipment, shoes, cycles and other antiques can also be found at the market.

Problems
Nanda Gurswamy, a local, said, “Our request to the government to allocate an area for exhibiting the idols has been put on hold. Dhoolpet is blacklisted by many firms, banks, government agencies. The future of our children is at stake because of the negative vibe that the area gives off. Many educated and talented youth from our area are being denied jobs and bank loans. Rs 5 crore sanctioned under Rajiv Yuva Shakti was not given to the local youth.”

Raja Singh local MLA demanded the government to take measures to improve the image of Dhoolpet. To this, IT minister KT Rama Rao assured that the State government would look into the demands and ensure for welfare of the residents. Nothing has been done till date.

By: Ch Saibaba