Minutes after releasing a turtle in the restored stepwell of Bapughat, Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development K.T. Rama Rao promised a mapping project for the scattered stepwells in the State.
“When I went to Paris recently, I was taken in by the way the heritage of the city has been preserved. We should do the same. I am glad this well has been restored with very little help from the government of Telangana,” said Mr. Rama Rao.
“We will work towards a project to map these stepwells so that they become cultural spaces. The community has to own these places then only we can sustain them,” said Mr. Rao who sat down to listen to a Amjad Warsi qawwali on the second level of the well. Earlier, the Minister along with Special Chief Secretary, Municipal Administration and Urban Development, Arvind Kumar went around a site exhibition which showed the efforts that went into restoring the well which is on the left bank of the Musi River. He spoke about how builders and large corporates can get involved in helping restore heritage structures in the city.
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“It took us 282 days to restore this well. It is like connecting the city to its past,” said Arunima, who executed the restoration project that was aided, among others, by Gandipet Welfare Society.