Behind a flawless facade, Hyderabad's Golconda Fort littered with garbage

Some of these chambers, which has no ventilation and where no light enters, reek of urine - despite there being proper toilet facilities inside the perimeter.
A secluded area of the Golconda Fort littered with plastic and defaced with graffiti | express photo
A secluded area of the Golconda Fort littered with plastic and defaced with graffiti | express photo

HYDERABAD: On the face, Golconda Fort is an example of preservation. With spotless gardens, pathways flanked with topiary and numerous notice boards which read: "picking flowers and littering is prohibited", the fort administration puts up a tough face. However, a look at its countless nooks and corners, spread over an area of 3 km, paints a different picture.

In these dilapidated chambers, tucked away on the top of cliffs away from the main tourist route, and on the trails leading to these, one can find numerous broken beer bottles, empty liquor bottles and plastic strewn all around. Some of these chambers, which has no ventilation and where no light enters, reek of urine - despite there being proper toilet facilities inside the perimeter.

This apart, numerous buildings inside the fort have been defaced by tourists who choose to draw graffiti on the walls in a bid to "immortalise" their visit and 'love'. Not just graffiti, a floor in one of the chambers has been completely destroyed by revellers who etched their messages with sharp objects.

Task cut out for the guards

As a result, the task for the odd 40 guards of the Golconda Fort is cut out. Apart from directing tourists to their destinations and keeping a watch for people who might defile the site, they also keep an eye out for love birds looking for some privacy. Though they are usually successful in shooing them away, these nooks and corners remain unmanned.

When asked, an Archaeological Survey of India official, on condition of anonymity, said, "The fort is spread out over 3 km and has only 40 guards. During the times of the Nizam, there used to be thousands manning the area. How does one expect them to do everything unless more funds for hiring new guards are allotted?"

Locals to blame

The official also blamed the poor management of Bonalu festival for the countless broken beer bottles on the upper reaches of the fort. The official said, "During Bonalu, the fort takes a different identity - it's not a heritage site anymore, but a large place where revelry is omnipresent. From July onwards, there would be no difference between a market place and the fort premises."

"The zeal to change should come from the tourists themselves. For the past two weeks, we have started covering up defaced walls in the Darbar Hall. Someone did a graffiti over a newly-restored spot," the exasperated official added.

Apart from these, the locals are also to blame. Milan Kumar Chauley, the Superintending Archaeologist of ASI Hyderabad Circle, said, "Locals residing near the Banjara Darwaza area jump into the Golconda Fort compound after closing time. They climb up, drink over there and break those bottles there." Apart from the wall-covering project, soon, the ASI is going to clean up the whole area leading to the place where beer bottles are found and make it paved, rendering it accessible to other tourists, Chauley added.

Light and Sound show, a disappointment

However, it's not just the nooks and corners which are in dire need of attention but also the much-recommended Light and Sound show which fails to live up to its expectation. On Thursday, the 7 pm show in English was interrupted twice after the sound stopped working due to a loose connection.

Even the sound mixing was not up to the mark. If a music track is played in the background, the voice of the speaker, who narrates the history of the fort, is drowned. Miffed with the production, a few members of the audience were seen leaving the show in the middle.

The Light and Sound show is under the adminstration of Telangana Tourism. An ASI source said, "The lights is not up to the mark and many are not interested in history. We have to make it accessible for all. Why won't people leave in the middle if the format of the show hasn't been changed in the last 20 years?" However, he said, the State government is in talks to install LED lights in place of the current light.

Is Adopt A Heritage scheme the way to go?

So, how realistic is the prospect of problems inside the Golconda Fort premises being addressed? Going by the ASI official's comment on the want of funds for proper working, not much. So, is there a need for the controversial 'Adopt a Heritage' scheme in Golconda?

In the Adopt a Heritage scheme, private and public sector companies are welcomed to 'adopt' heritage sites/monuments and work on its development for a period of time. Recently, there was a huge furore after the Red Fort in Delhi was adopted by the Dalmia group for Rs 250 million. They will be working on its development for the span of 5 years.

Chauley said, "There is a shortage of people working the fort. If the Fort is indeed taken up under the Adopt A Heritage Scheme, it would mean more working hands engaged in the well being of the tourists and fort."

"It's not like the adoptee will have full control over the workings of the fort. Any step they take has to be approved by the ASI first," Chauley added.

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