Hyderabad, August 31: Following heavy rains, a portion of a minaret of Hyderabad’s iconic Charminar fell off on Sunday, but the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) dismissed it as “insignificant”.
K Veerbhadra Rao, superintendent archaeologist of ASI, Hyderabad said the chipping off of the trefoil design on the southeast minaret was a minor damage. This is bound to happen to a monument more than 400 years old. “We will fix it after the rains are over,” said Rao.
Rao’s reaction, however, was criticized by heritage activists and conservation architects who claimed that Sunday’s incident was only an indication of ASI’s poor maintenance.
They demanded a regular monitoring system be put in place for the monument by the ASI to avoid such damage in future.
Experts also sought immediate implementation of Charminar Pedestrianization Project to save monument from crumbling.
-Agencies