HYDERABAD: A portion of Moti Darwaza, a historical monument near the iconic Golconda court, collapsed in the early hours of Wednesday. The residents alerted the police and got the door shifted to the Golconda Fort where officials hope to restore the historical piece.
“The wood of the door from the bottom has completely decayed and has, therefore, lost its support,” explained Siva Kumar, senior conservation assistant, Golconda. The repair work will be undertaken on Thursday after a thorough inspection. “We will be taking the measurements of the door and then decide what we can do about it. We will also examine the iron sheet surrounding the door and think of possible replacement of it as it has become brittle now,” he added.
For the local residents, however, the incident is not the first of its kind. In 2006, the opposite portion of the same door almost collapsed and was fixed within two days. “It was a minor incident and did not involve much repair. It had just separated from the pivot and there was not much repair then. But same is not the case now because there is an internal decay,” Siva Kumar said.
Of the eight gates surrounding the fort, seven are fixed and while Jamali Darwaza, which lies north to the fort is the only operating door. “Most of these doors are not operated because of the road level which is above the base of the door, which disables them to move,” explained Siva kumar. “We will examine the condition of the other doors tomorrow to ensure that these incidents do not repeat,” he added.
The eight doors, including Moti Darwaza, were built to guard the fort during the Nizam time 400 years ago. “The fort of Golconda was like a city in itself. It was very huge and had to have more than one gate,” explained Anuradha Reddy, co-convener of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach), Hyderabad.
“Fateh Darwaza was the main door from where the Nizams entered the fort. The rest of the gates were just a part of the security system which included huge walls in different layers,” she said.