HYDERABAD: The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) Hyderabad Heritage Citation 2023 was conferred on the Musa Burj, Golconda Fort. The Artillery Centre, Hyderabad, has received the award by INTACH for the preservation of the historic ‘Azdaha Paikar’ canon of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb which was brought from Delhi for the capture of Golconda Fort. It is the bastions of Golconda Fort that made it one of the most formidable defence structures of its times. The 60-foot-high decagonal Musa Burj is built with massive granite blocks.
Affixed on the inner face of the merlons (raised solid portions) crowning the battlement are two very important inscriptions. Inscribed in Persian and Telugu, these important epigraphic specimens record the siege of the fort in 1656 and the events that followed. Presently administered by the Artillery Centre - Golconda, the famed defences of Golconda Fort has been acknowledged as a unique heritage asset.
The Hyderabad chapter of INTACH acknowledged the exemplary role of the Indian Army and the Artillery Centre - Golconda in the conservation, preservation and protection of this immensely important heritage structure and conferred this citation as testament to the love and care that the structure has received from its custodians.