Qutb Shahi tombs, the final abode of the Qutb Shahi rulers at Golconda, figures in the list of eight heritage sites which the Government of India plans to restore. It is proposed to provide landscaping, signage, parking, access for the differently-abled and amenities like toilets for visitors.
In his Budget speech, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley admitted that most of the country’s 25 cultural world heritage sites were still deficient in facilities and required restoration. Conservationists have welcomed the inclusion of the Qutb Shahi tombs in the Central scheme and expect the government to provide resources at the earliest.
The other heritage sites identified are: churches and convents of old Goa, Hampi in Karnataka, Kumbalgarh and other hill forts of Rajasthan, Rani Ki Vav, Patan, Gujarat, Leh Palace, Ladakh, Varanasi temple town and Jalianwala Bagh, Amritsar. The Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) has already taken up conservation and landscape restoration of the Qutb Shahi tombs complex after successful restoration of the Humayun’s tomb in Delhi.
It has signed a formal MoU with the State Department of Archaeology. Not just the cluster of seven tombs but all the 150 graceful structures in the 130 acre royal necropolis are planned to be restored in a way that can spur social, economic and cultural development.
Anuradha Reddy, convenor, INTACH, Hyderabad, expressed happiness at the identification of the largest necropolis in the world for restoration. “Though AKTC is doing the job, the complex requires more money,” she said. Noted historian M.A. Qaiyum too appreciated the government’s move.
