The view of the Golconda Fort from inside the Qutb Shahi Tombs Complex is a blur of blue. A three-storied building blocks the view and set to grow higher. “The department has lodged a police complaint. We are expecting action any day,” says an employee of Department of Heritage, Telangana.
“The building will ruin the visual drama of the place. Both the Golconda Fort and the Qutb Shahi Tombs Complex should be seen as one. This building will block the view,” says Ratish Nanda, chief executive officer of Aga Khan Trust for Culture which is carrying out the conservation work on the 17th century tombs complex in tandem with Telangana State government.
Mr. Nanda had earlier sent a missive to the Department of Heritage, Telangana, raising alarm over the development. “I am sorry to be now reporting a construction that will disfigure the historic character of the Qutb Shahi tombs significantly. We had earlier been given to understand that this construction abutting the Idgah Baoli had been stopped and the GHMC permissions withdrawn. However, I was aghast to see today the attached [pictures that show construction going on in full swing and in fact RCC slabs have already been cast and cured. This is shocking as there had been assurance that this work had been stalled,” says the letter accessed by this reporter.
Having a visual link between the Golconda Fort and the Qutb Shahi tombs complex is a key factor to showcase the ‘Outstanding Universal Value’ of the two sites to make a case for World Heritage Site status. Only last year, the stepwells inside the Qutb Shahi tombs complex bagged a ‘Distinction of Merit’ for the restoration at the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. The new building being built abuts the Idgah Bowli that is finished with dressed stone and has ornamentation to match.
Currently, the Qutb Shahi tombs and the Golconda Fort are on the list of nominated sites.
Rahbar Foundation which has put up a sign about madrasa being built, could not be reached for a comment.
