Warangal: Collector revives another piece of heritage

Warangal: Warangal, with its many ancient structures, is considered as one of the heritage cities of India. The city is home to carvings dating back to the period of Jains to buildings built by the Nizams. The Kakatiyan architecture, which constitutes a majority of the heritage in Warangal, includes the ruins of the Warangal Fort, several temples, the 8-km stone fortification and the 12-km mud fortification.

Apart from these, there are several stepwells that are in a neglected state. One of these, a stepwell in Shiva Nagar, which was known to be the swimming pool of Queen Rudrama Devi, has been revived with the initiative taken by the district collector, GWMC and local MLA Konda Surekha. It was in a state of total neglect all these years. Similarly, there are several such wells which need attention. District collector Amrapali Kata is keen on reviving these wells which are heritage symbols for Warangal.

“The Kakatiyan rulers knew the importance of wells for the needs of the people. Keeping them alive and clean is critical for local groundwater and also essential for human survival. Digging a well of that size is not possible for any of us in this day and age, so the least we can do is revive them. We will keep working on all old wells in Warangal,” she said. Apart from the wells built by the Kakatiyan rulers, there are some wells inside the collector’s office and the Bungalow. They were built 131 years ago by the Nizams. They were forgotten all these years due to the thick overgrowth. No one cared to clear the area inside the collector bungalow campus.

However, Ms Kata got the entire garden area cleaned and upon coming to know about the 131-year-old well, she directed the RWS department to clean the water, desilt it, and use it for the garden. Another well beside the conference hall of the collectorate is also slated to be revived along with ancient wells at Rangashaipet and Pochamma Maidan.