The Machilipatnam civic body has turned a blind eye to encroachment of heritage sites and European tombs’ sites by local communities at Bandarkota, once an administrative and defence seat for the Dutch and the British.
Of the several heritage sites, barely four – 1864 memorial, Dutch fort, Armoury and Bell Tower — were being conserved by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and a Christian Missionary.
An European burial ground, on survey number 123 and spreading over 1.3 acres of land in the heart of the Bandarkota, stands as a classic example of how local people took possession of it by turning it into a permanent cattle shed. Ironically, visitors will have to obtain permission from the local Vemoori Nagarjuna’s family to visit the site.
The Bandarkota area is known as 17th ward in the Machilipatnam Municipality. “Some portion of the burial ground (European) is under the control of Mr. Nagarjuna’s family that use it for their cattle and storing hay. The site is listed as ‘burial ground’ in our survey records,” Machilipatnam Municipality Surveyor G. Venkateswara Rao told The Hindu on Friday. Cattle did reside in the British Residency. A two-storey mansion behind the existing ASI’s Dutch fort here was the then residence of East India’s agent in Masulipatnam, Alexander. Hyderabadi noblewoman Khair-Un-Nissa was given shelter in the residency in mid-1807 for some months.
Under family control
“Until 1979, the Residency was in good shape. It has disappeared on the site over the years,” then Machilipatnam Revenue Inspector Mohammed Silar told The Hindu . The residency now wears a deserted look and serves as a permanent shed for cattle of another group of Vemoori families.
The civic body’s records show that this site is now under the control of private people but transfer of right over it to the any private person remains a puzzle. Asked how the Vemoori family got possession of the site, Vemoori Badri told The Hindu that he had no idea about how his family got the right over it but it was distributed among their 12 family members. However, Mr. Badri has refused to show documents pertaining to the site.
“We are unable to act or prevent the encroachments in the historical Bandarkota area. The public must launch a protest,” added Mr. Venkateswara Rao.
Meanwhile, Machilipatnam Municipal Commissioner M. Jaswanth Rao told The Hindu the civic body was yet to act on any encroachments, but it initiated enjoyment survey on the historical sites in early 2017.
Mr. Silar states that ‘possession and transfer of right over the heritage sites remains a puzzle as civic body and State government turn a blind eye to the encroachments.”
