The Department of Archaeology and Museums (DAM) has raised an alarm over a new construction coming up on the southern side of the Qutb Shahi Heritage Park. Department officials had earlier lodged a complaint against the builders, but there has been no action. “The building will block the view of Mohammed Quli’s tomb from outside and even from the Golconda Fort. We are helpless to stop it,” said a DAM official, seeking anonymity.
“The building will be a four-storeyed one. The work on the foundation is over,” said a worker on the construction site. The site abuts the wall of the funerary park with about half-a-dozen flood lights perched on its wall. While a part of the decorated peripheral wall skirts the old stepwell near the Idgah, the other portion will get enclosed by the new construction. The QSHP is one of the largest funerary parks in the country that date back to early 16th century, with the family of Qutb Shahi rulers buried in the 106-acre area. Currently, it is being conserved by the State government and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. The decade-long effort saw the transformation of the site from a treeless rundown site to a park with trees, lawns and a symmetrical pool in front of Mohammed Quli’s tomb.
“Heritage sites need a buffer zone so that they can be appreciated from a distance and its integrity remains intact. There is supposed to be a 50-metre buffer zone around the funerary complex. But we have no power to enforce it. The result is the rampant building activity around the funerary park,” said the DAM official.
“There is supposed to be a 50-metre buffer zone around the funerary complex. But we have no power to enforce it. The result is the rampant building activity around the funerary park”Department of Archaeology official
New construction activity is ongoing outside the walls of the complex. On the western side, an old tree has been cut and a new building has come up. The inevitable result is the blocking of view of the grand mausoleums. Currently, the tombs are being lit up in the night as part of the celebrations by the Telangana government marking a decade of the birth of the new state. But once all these construction are completed, Hyderabad’s landmark will no longer be visible from a distance.
