HYDERABAD: One of the rarer cave formations in the country, the recently discovered Mylaram caves now lie in neglect. Located on the outskirts of Mylaram village in Mulugu mandal of Bhupalapally district, the heights of the caves range from 5 ft to 100 ft and are similar to Belum and Borra caves of neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.
Spread over an area of 3.5 sqkm, the caves were discovered four yeas back, located 55 km from Warangal city. Although there is a lot of potential to develop these caves as a tourist place, not enough is being done by the toursim department or even by eco-tourism wing of the forest department. Even Commissioner of Tourism M Sunita Bhagwat and former MD of TSTDC MD Christina Z Chongthu visited the caves two years ago, but no efforts were made to develop these caves.
Archeaology enthusiast Aravind Arya Pakide said, “Since there are several popular tourist places such as Pandavula Gutta, Ganapuram temples and Ramappa temple located near Mylaravam, these caves can be developed into a major tourist attraction,” he added. He also pointed that an expert committee should research on geophysical structures, cave density and external ecology. Removal of obstructing rocks and building bridges could provide a pathway to visitors and creating some natural light with the help of solar panels would add to its beauty.
The rarity of Mylaram caves lies in the fact that across the entire country, there are only eight cave formations of limestone and Mylaram is the only one of its kind in Telangana State. The major attraction of the caves is a stalagmite formation which looks like a Shiva Linga, is similar to that found in the revered Amarnath shrine. While the other is the rock arch which is said to be bigger than Tirumala Hills.