Hyderabad: A portion of one of the minarets of Hyderabad's pride - the Charminar caved in due to heavy rains on Sunday night, reports Mirror.
Pieces of stucco floral decoration from the third balcony of the south-east minaret came crashing down on Sunday night, upsetting its lovers and heritage conservation activists.
The debris fell on the Bhagya Matha temple, which is situated near the heritage structure.
Veerabhadra Rao, an official from Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) said that only the outer layer of the minaret - colour paint peeled and fell down. “It can be restored within a week.
The original structure has not suffered any damages,” he said.
Rao went and inspected the structure and the debris on Monday morning. The official further said there was no danger to the structural stability of the monument.
The whole of Andhra Pradesh has been lashed with incessant rains and windy weather for the past three days.
M Veda Kumar, president of Forum for Better Hyderabad said, “Whenever there is such an incident, officials wake up and do temporary works. But, the world-renowned monument has to be protected and conserved through a long-term plan with budgetary support.”
He said that the air pollution, unplanned underground sewage lines and vibrations caused by traffic have taken a toll on the monument.
Kujmar said that a proposal of banning all vehicular traffic and allowing only pedestrians around Charminar has been pending for the last 15 years. “It's time, the authorities implemented immediated the project on a war-footing,” he said.
Charminar, often referred to as ‘The Arc de triumph of the East', symbolises Hyderabad and its culture and is an exquisite example of Islamic architecture.
The Charminar was built by Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, the fifth ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, in 1591.
Its conservation and protection has long been the debated, since a similar accident (one tonne plaster peeled off the south-west minaret) took place in 2001 and temporary repairs conducted.
