Hyderabad: Following structural damage to the Moula Ali kaman, an engineering team from the State Archaeology department and the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach), Hyderabad visited the site independently on Tuesday to study and assess the damage caused, and came out with a detailed report.
In its preliminary inspection report, the Intach team found that years of neglect and lack of maintenance was the reason for the damage caused to the structure.
It was found that whenever it rained, there was water stagnation over the top of the kaman, as the pipeline for water to drain was blocked, which resulted in soaking of the wall, and eventually weakened the structure.
The state archaeology department also found similar reasons and said that the parapet wall was the most affected part. An official from the department stated, “Water stagnation on the top of the kamaan and lack of maintenance are some of the reasons.” However, an estimate and analysis for the actual damage is yet to be prepared. Speaking to DC, Ms Anuradha Reddy from Intach, who inspected the site said, “This is the perfect example of how a protected monument is being neglected these days. In the city alone, there are around 347 historic monuments, and the archaeological department has neither the funds nor the manpower to maintain all these monuments on a regular basis. How will our history be preserved at this rate?”
Even on the day after the damage, heavy vehicles and trolleys kept moving through the kamaan, despite a policeman trying to control vehicular movement. Vibrations caused by these vehicles are also partly responsible for the kamaan to receive cracks, added Ms Anuradha.
Historians also allege that the damage caused by an accident in 2007 when a lorry hit the kamaan, still remains unrepaired and lack of maintenance is evident from the same with cracks over it.
Mr Firasath Ali Baqri from the BJP told this newspaper that, “The State Archaeological Department always neglected heritage religious structures like the Moula Ali kamaan, Ashoorkhana Golconda and many other structures in Hyderabad.”
He added that even the Moula Ali dargah always gets inundated with rain water even after a little rain due to choking of drainage lines.
