God Save the Queen

There have always been talks of revamping the old heritage sites in Old City. The GVMC always had plans to restore the structures and maintain them, but none ever came to fruition, except for the Town Hall and Victoria’s statue. Rest of the heritage structures in Vizag are in ruins and in need of a facelift.

Queen’s Mary’s High School, built in the late 1800s, is now facing the threat of being demolished by the GVMC. The GVMC has given the school three days to bring down the building from the day they receive the notice. If the school fails to do so, they will take care of the task themselves. Members of INTACH Vizag contacted the former GVMC Commissioner & present Collector Pravin Kumar, who assured them he would look into the issue.

Hudhud had an adverse effect on the old structure that has a rich history attached to it. The school has in the past housed the Collectorate, used by the British to store ammunition, been the office of the District Collector and a school for young widows after the abolishment of Sati system. There are even rumours of the building once being a jail.  

“Vizag’s iconic 200 year old building now housing the Queen Mary’s School is under imminent threat with GVMC serving notice to bring it down like they did the 100 year old Kurupam Market in 2013 (at that time no notice was served). This building is steeped in history and any such action on this building will be a tragic mistake. Some heritage lovers are working to stop any threat to QMS but they need all the help they can get. We must all be vigilant. A candle light protest is planned later this week or next,” says Sohan Hatangadi, a member of INTACH Vizag.