Hyderabad: Amid the constant rise of COVID-19 the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) closed the historic fort of Golconda and Charminar. A circular from the ASI said on Thursday that all monuments / museums protected by the central government under the agency were closed immediately until 15 May.
While the ASI has closed its monuments to visitors, there is no intimidation over other heritage buildings or historical monuments that fall under the state government, such as the Qutb Shahi tombs, which are currently still open. The Fort Charminar and Golconda were also closed last year due to the lock-in that was instituted due to the continuation COVID-19 pandemic. Both, along with other venues, were only reopened in September 2020.
After the monuments were reopened, there were not many visitors for the first few months, but things slowly went back to normal in February this year as hundreds of people visited the Charminar and Golconda forts. In Telangana, the state government has so far not instituted any form of lockdown, but closed schools and colleges following the pandemic.
It is unclear from now on whether the state government will also close historical monuments. As of Thursday, all public spaces are open and on this front there was no intimidation. In addition, it should be noted that Eatala Rajender, Minister of State of the State, also said that the Minister of State of Health, apart from K. Chandrasekhar Rao, said that another exclusion would not be applied.
History
The Charminar is the fundamental monument of Hyderabad. Built in 1591, it was built to establish the city by Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah, the fourth ruler of the Qutb Shahi (or Golconda) dynasty. Before the Charminar was built, the Golconda Fortress was a walled city, from which the first three kings ruled Qutb Shahi kings.
After Hyderabad was established, the fort was finally turned into a military barrack. However, the fort was also the site of the final Qutb Shahi-Mughal war in 1687, after Aurangzeb attacked the Golconda kingdom. He succeeds after an eight-month battle, after which the entire Qutb Shahi area was brought under Mughal territory.
The Nizams (Asaf Jahi dynasty), who ruled next, were high-ranking Mughal soldiers. The first Nizam, Mir Qamruddin Khan, achieved the position in 1724 and ruled from Aurangabad, the capital of the Deccan (Nizam area).
Source: The Siasat Daily