Hyderabad: Encroachments, lack of buffer zone are hurdles

Hyderabad: Proposals to get the Charminar and the Kakatiya monuments declared World Heritage sites were sent to Unesco but due to the encroachments around these monuments and the lack of a buffer zone, the proposal has gone nowhere.

According to sources, proposal for three sites — Qutub Shahi Tombs, Golconda Fort and Charminar was incomplete and Indian authorities did not resubmit the proposal, even after a lapse of nine years.

The government also failed to fulfil conditions required by the international agency to recognise these three monuments as World Heritage Sites.
They are thus on the tentative list of Unesco’s World Heritage Sites. The paper work involved all the monuments separately and also the local land records are still not available.

It is the encroachments that stand in the way of Golconda Fort and Charminar being recognised as World Heritage sites. The Bhagyalaxmi mandir that abuts the Sardar Mahal side of the Charminar and a chilla located inside the arch are considered encroachments by Unesco and removing these places of worship is something the authorities will never do.

The Golconda Fort too is not free of illegal structures.

Unless the government authorities remove the encroachments and upgrade the facilities, these monuments will not get the status of World Heritage Site.

Citizens should be more involved in maintaining the ancient monuments of their city, but one only has to see the way members of the public behave at a tourist site to understand why such sites are in such a poor condition. If citizens don’t care about their city’s heritage, it is unlikely the government will be enlightened enough to do so.