Hyderabad's ancient sites find no place in Heritage Act

HYDERABAD: What's heritage for one government does not appear to be of antiquarian value for another. The princely state of Hyderabad in 1862 had listed 37 monuments and sites in the city as structures of heritage and historical value. It later added several new monuments and sites to the list during 1920s when a comprehensive survey of archaeological places was conducted.
Six decades later some of these monuments have lost their heritage tag while many others have simply disappeared into history books. Of the 37 monuments and sites including three now under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) listed in 1862, only 26 (three under ASI) find a place in the new Telangana Heritage Act, 2017.
Only two of the twelve 10th century BCE burial sites identified by the Nizam government can be found intact now . While these sites continue to appear in the official records of the archaeology department, their exact locations remain unknown as encroachments have cropped up over these stone age burials that hold clues to Hyderabad’s ancient history and its early human habitation.
The Char Kaman (four arched gateways), which are as old as the Charminar built in 1591, are not protected structures. Jama Masjid, Hyderabad's first congregational mosque built in 1597 and Darul Shifa, the first multi-storeyed hospital built in 1595, is also out of the heritage monuments list. The tomb and baradari of Chin Qulij Khan, the ancestor of Asaf Jah rulers, was also stripped of the heritage tag.
The mosque of Princess Husaina Begum, daughter of Abdullah Qutub Shah VII, figured in the 1862 heritage list, but it does not find a place in 2017 heritage Act. The cairns at Gachibowli and Lingampally are protected while those at Mir Alam Tank, Hashmatpet, Moula Ali, Bowenpally, Kukatpally, Fatehnagar, Gurramguda, Gaganpahad, Begumpet and Uppal are missing.
INTACH city convener P Anuradha Reddy said that the monuments listed in 1862 are of prime historical value and delisting some of them now would result in the chances of Hyderabad permanently staying off the world heritage tag.