Activists in Hyderabad are irked after construction work being carried out at the foothill of the city's famed Golconda Fort resumed this week. Protests last month had forced authorities to temporarily halt the work.
Activists allege that the moat, which once used to hold water as a defence mechanism, is now being destroyed for the construction of a drain. The stormwater drain is reportedly being planned by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), which is constructing a pipeline from the Shah Hatam lake nearby.
Armed with photos that show earth movers being used for digging and cutting rocks just adjacent to the wall, activists warn that this could potentially cause cracks along the structure’s surface and eventually do much more harm.
Speaking to TNM, activist Mohammed Afzal, Convenor of Heritage Watch and Association for Protection of Civil Rights says, "The construction activity definitely threatens the structure and is a violation of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act. There is no clarity from the GHMC on whether they have taken the required permission. If the wall adjoining the moat collapses tomorrow, who is to blame? It is utter negligence and apathy from the state government."
“It is also unclear whether the GHMC has permission from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to do so, even though officials on the ground are saying that they have obtained everything required for the project, including all permissions,” Afzal added.
The fort is listed as a heritage structure and comes under the jurisdiction of the ASI and any construction activity within a 100-metre radius without prior permission is prohibited.
The activist has also filed an RTI seeking details of the project and the permissions acquired to carry out the construction work with heavy machinery.
Dating back to the year 1143 when it was a mud fort before being fortified in the 14th and 17th centuries, the city of Golconda was the principal capital of the Qutub Shahi kings before the city of Hyderabad was planned and constructed on the banks of the Musi river in the 17th century.