Golf course damaging Golconda heritage

Hyderabad: Alleging that Hyderabad Golf Association (HGA) was endangering heritage structures, terrain, water bodies and environment of Naya Qila, an integral part of the historic Golconda Fort, a group of city-based NGOs requested Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to intervene and protect Golconda from any damage.

The group, which also includes Forum for Better Hyderabad, on Wednesday dashed off a letter to Chief Minister, urging him to revoke permission granted to the golf course immediately as it would cause irreparable damage to Naya Quila.

It also requested the CM to set up an expert committee on the issue to introspect on the steps to protect the heritage monument. Stating that the recent historic decisions of the CM to protect heritage structures like changing the alignment of Metro Rail near heritage structures like Assembly and conservation of G-block, prompted them to bring the issue to the CM's notice, the representatives of the civil society organisations said that Naya Qula consists of heritage structures like Qutub Shahi gardens, Naya Quila tank, Manja Buruj, Mulla Quyali Mosque and Gazero Chabutara.

Bringing the violation of the HGA management to the notice of the CM, they alleged that the association demolished a moat wall to create access for members of the HGA and lowered the floor level of the tunnel to provide ease of access to members of the association.

They also alleged that the HGA diverted water flows and draining of water from the Naya Qila precinct to dry out the water bodies. 'The diversion of the water flows led to the formation of new channels and the historic drainage pattern was altered. The process had also resulted in damage to the ancient water channel network consisting of weirs, cisterns, cascades and storage tanks,' the representatives said.

They further alleged that HGA also changed contours in the name of grassing and fencing off areas with the use of steel poles and chain linked fencing. They also said that the association had violated provisions of the Monument Acts by resorting to construction and digging for non-cultivation purposes inside the prohibited areas.

The HGA also intervened with Qutub Shahi Bagh and marking its area as 10-acres instead of 28 acres as per ASI maps for its exclusion from the golf course layout area as stipulated in the MoU, the group added.

It noted that the association resorted to prohibited acts like dumping of material to change contours of the Naya Qila Bagh, encroachment of the FTL limits of Naya Qila Talab and prevention of access to the public by representatives of the HGA.

President of Forum for Better Hyderabad M Veda Kumar revealed that representatives of 54 families which had patta lands in the Naya Qila also strongly opposed the move.

The proposal was also seen as causing damage to the historic spatial arrangements by linking the hitherto defined entities; the Jamalikunta (a water body on Shikam land) and Shatam Talab, which were separated from the Naya Qila by a moat.

'The Naya Qila precinct is one of the most intact and undisturbed areas of the Golconda Fort making it a unique vestige of the past which has the potential to yield crucial information leading to a better understanding of medieval history of the region.

Numerous scholars of international repute have stressed on the need for an exhaustive study of the area and expressed concern at the loss of site integrity due to the activities of the Hyderabad Golf Association (HGA).

The ASI and the State Department of Archaeology have studiously ignored this important site,' Veda Kumar said. He said that the permission to set up an 18-hole golf course was accorded by the then Youth Advancement, Tourism and Culture (YAT &C) of the erstwhile AP government following rejection of a proposal for setting up of a bird sanctuary at Naya Qila on the grounds that the construction of the sanctuary would involve erection of fencing and cages by allocating a part of the land of Naya Quila. The group also requested the CM to do justice to the family members of the patta land owners, who had lost their lands due to the setting up of the golf course.