Telangana to develop forts, havelis as tourist hubs

Hyderabad: The Telangana tourism department has zeroed in on 60 ancient ghadis (palatial houses) of zamindars and forts scattered across the state to acquire and develop into tourist spots, like ancient castles that are restored in countries like France and England.

The department is currently in talks with the ASI to take forward the plan. An inventory of forest wells, tanks, havelis and ghadis will be drawn up. “There are nearly 60 age-old ghadis and majestic forts in the state that are lying vacant. We plan to acquire them and turn them into tourist spots by providing cafeterias, bars, lawns and interesting bits of history related to each. Each such spot has a story, and it is important to bring out such stories to show the beauty behind each such place.

Just like without the love story behind Taj Mahal, it would have just been a structure; similarly we have a large number of structures with hidden stories and we plan to bring out these stories by engaging local historians and literature experts to highlight the significance of these places,” said Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation chairman P. Ramulu.

Also, the possibility of restoring filled up “bowlis” or wells will be explored by the department. “Like the ancient well inside the Eflu, there are many interesting wells that need to be explored. We will also explore the history behind names like Gachibowli, Rethibowli etc. and see if there were significant ancient wells there, which have been filled up over the decades. If so, they will be restored,” he added.

Telangana Buddhist sites to shine

Telangana has been largely unexplored when it comes to tourism possibilities. The Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation is now charting plans to involve historians, researchers, excavators and explorers to highlight the hidden charm of the cultural destinations and heritage structures of the state, especially of Buddhist origin. Plans for constituting a Nagarjunasagar Development Authority, to bring up out the relics of the Acharya Nagarjuna period – believed to be submerged in the Nagarjunakonda – and building a “vihara” on the left bank of the Nagarjunasagar dam, are afloat. As per the plans, the vihara will be on the lines of the one in Bodh Gaya, but bigger. The installation will be like viharas of countries like Japan, China, Sri Lanka and Malaysia, and the state government plans to invite other Buddhism following countries to set up their viharas at the location too.

Volunteers to spot sites

Heritage enthusiasts can now play their part in discovering and documenting monuments, forts, old government or private building, mosques, dargahs, temples, churches, gurudwaras, sarais among others in the state.

The ‘Zilla Khazana’ programme, launched by Intach, has called for volunteers from across the state to collect basic information about heritage monuments in their village, mandal or district. “The information can be very basic and people can also write about the incidents or problems at heritage sites, like say encroachment or similar issues. The information needs to be sent along with a digital photograph or a photo print,” said Anuradha Reddy, the convenor Intach. The initiative aims to document all the heritage structures in the state at a decentralised level, so that protection and restoration becomes easier. “The plan is to rope in students from high school, colleges and universities. This is voluntary work, and no payment will be made,” Ms Reddy said.