Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao would unfurl the tricolour on Independence Day at Golconda Fort. A routine letter seeking permission for the use of the medieval fort for the I-Day celebrations has been received by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). This puts at rest the speculation about the venue for celebrating the national day in Telangana.
Addressing the legislators at the two-day special session of the Assembly, the Chief Minister said the State’s commitment to heritage can be seen from the fact it was organising the Independence Day celebrations at the Golconda Fort.
The State government has earlier expressed misgivings about organising two national days at Parade Grounds and the Golconda Fort as both the venues require permission from the Indian Army and the ASI. This year’s State Formation Day was celebrated at Public Gardens breaking from the tradition of celebrating the event at the Parade Grounds.
In a series of tweets on May 17, Chief Secretary S.K. Joshi mulled the idea. “India celebrates its two national days with great fervour. The events are organised at the national and State capitals, and at innumerable cities and villages. However, a great amount of inconvenience is caused to citizens as well as participants during the practice and rehearsals,” was one tweet.
Wasteful expenditure
Another tweet said: “The time is now ripe to do away with the wasteful expenditure and stop causing hardships without compromising on the significance and sanctity of the occasion. We need to explore new formats for holding such events.”
If the hint was at change in the format and venue, the CS dismissed it as “pure loud thinking”, when a user asked about the provocation for the tweets. Within days, the State Formation event was celebrated in a low-profile manner at the Public Gardens.
The celebration of Independence Day at the Golconda Fort was expected to bring much-needed focus on the heritage site, which has been overrun by encroachers. “I was hopeful initially. But not anymore. The government has no concept of heritage or culture. So, nothing will change on the ground,” said Sajjad Shahid, an engineer and heritage activist.
“The encroachments at the Golconda Fort have reached a stage where the fort walls on the northern and north-west side are being dislodged. The whole area has been turned into a garbage dump. We can only issue notices, and we have been doing that,” said an ASI official.