Hyderabad: Majnu Burj of Golconda Forte collapses amid heavy rains; ASI, golf club keep mum

HYDERABAD: The collapse of Majnu Burj in the Naya Qila area of Golconda Fort late Friday has sparked a row over the secrecy maintained over the incident.
Both the ASI and Hyderabad Golf Club, abutting the structure, kept a guarded silence over the incident till images floated on social media platforms days later.
Speaking to TOI, ASI officials said they knew of the damage the burj or bastion had sustained due to the rains. “We have been asked not to speak about it. Owing to the rain in September, there was a crack that had developed and a slight bulge which needed remedial measures. On October 2, we approached Delhi headquarters for permission for restoration work, but the burj collapsed before anything could be done,” said an official.
The burj comes under ASI’s protection, but controversy mires it. Approval for the construction of a golf course at Naya Qila, which houses the burj, was given by the ASI in-principle 2011. As a result, experts say, a water pipeline was laid near the structure, debris dumped, and blasting work carried out all with heavy machinery over the years resulting in the collapse.
“We want the MOU with the Hyderabad Golf Association to be cancelled. There is no transparency regarding the condition of heritage structures,” said Mohammed Afzal, part of a group called Heritage Watch. He added that outsiders were seldom let in by club guards even though the structure is open to the public.
INTACH convenor Anuradha Reddy said she too had been stopped at the gate. “The structures are part of a monument under the ASI. No other authority can be entrusted with it,” she said. Reddy added that if this was the fate of a centrally-protected monument, one can only imagine the fate of others.
Authorities from the Hyderabad Golf Association vehemently refuted all allegations. BVK Raju, secretary of the Golf Club, said, “The burj in no way falls in our premises. There is a separate way for people to enter. The incident occurred only due to the heavy rains.”