Sultan Bazar clock tower might stop ticking again

Sultan Bazar: The iconic weather-resistant pendulum clock of Nizam-era at Sultan Bazar Government Boy’s School worked relentlessly giving accurate time to micro seconds in all seasons for years. However, the new HMT clock installed recently here might stop working this very monsoon as no weatherproofing precautions were taken up, according to Shivram Prasad, principal of the government school. Since the clock tower is open with no rain shelter for the clock, it might get dysfunctional with future downpours.

The clock tower of Sultan Bazar was fixed quite recently by HMT bearings and is functional since then. The school management is worried about the rainy season. Prasad said, “Since the tower is open and unlike pendulum clock of Nizami-era, the new HMT clock might not stand the rainfall.” “The new clock is run on electricity and recently, the power officials handed us a bill of Rs 12,000 which has been pending for years, he added. The officials must take a decision to save the clock from rain and provide cover to the clock so that it keeps functioning, the principal said.

The tower Clock towers are scattered across the city with each one narrating a different story. Sultan Bazar clock tower is modest among all, design elements are only represented on the roof while rest of the building stands more or less like a tower, with spindle shaped ventilation. The inside of the tower encloses wooden stairs with open roof top.

Building which barely stands One of the oldest clock tower in the city is almost forgotten like the age-old school building, which nestles the clock tower. The school building is in dilapidated state with old wooden doors worn out and ceilings in a drenched state due to water seepage, the building has turned into an eyesore.

On the façade of the Sultan Bazar tower, 1865 is engraved as the year of construction and the granite carved on the school reads 1866. The school was called ‘Chudderghat Anglo Vernacular School’ which is now a secluded building filled with debris and wreckage. The building exhibits vernacular style in every corner. The main entrance is guarded by eight columns each clustered in groups of four on the either side of the doorway.

The main building screens a high canopy of cement sheets and is surrounded by rooms on the either side, which could have served as office block, library and science lab. The other side of the building houses a courtyard filled with classrooms on one side and stairs to enter the first floor on the other. Sadly, the first floor of the building is almost in a collapsed state. Now, all that stands is a cement rooftop of the main building.

Students have to pass through the dilapidated building every day to use the toilets which are located situated on the other side of the old building. “There are many dogs and snakes inside the old building, and we have to pass through it every day.” complained the school students.

BY Mayank Tiwari