HYDERABAD: Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao on Monday affirmed that the State government is keen on preserving heritage structures by reviving them with a concerted approach. He was speaking during the inauguration of the restored Bansilalpet stepwell.
The 17 th century stepwell in Secunderabad was reduced to a trash dump and has been revived with the combined efforts of the Rainwater project, Gandipet Welfare Society (GWS), several NGOs, civic societies, HMDA and GHMC.
Speaking after unveiling of the restored stepwell, Rama Rao appreciated the tireless efforts of people who contributed to the revival of the stepwell, especially the GHMC sanitary workers, who were directly involved in the trash collection to provide such a beautiful gift to Hyderabad.
“A city is not just defined by concrete buildings, steel bridges, structures but the soul of the city is its history, culture and monuments that unfortunately we have not been able to protect in the last few centuries,” the minister said.
He said that the State government is keen on conserving the cultural heritage and historic monuments and it took up the task of reviving the Bansilalpet stepwell revival project as part of preservation of heritage. He added that the Hyderabad mayor was keen to identify 43 more such heritage structures to be revived with grandeur.
He said that during the restoration, around 3,900 metric tonnes of waste was collected from the well and transferred out in 863 lorry trips at an expenditure to the tune of Rs 10 crore.
“The revival of the Bansilalpet stepwell is not just a beautification project, but it is developed as a tourism plaza with amphitheatre, cafeteria, cultural centres for artists so that the future generations can remember this as a symbol of history.”
“Earlier, in similar manner, Quli Qutab shahi tombs and six step wells were revived which was done by the Aga Khan foundation and got the UNESCO award,” he added.
The minister reasserted that the revival and preservation of historic and heritage grandeur of Hyderabad was the sole aim of the government and added that the Aga Khan foundation, GWS and Wassan foundation were engaged in this concept with a concerted approach. “The revival of Bansilalpet stepwell was a step towards the revival of grandeur of historic structures in the city and that these steps would be carried out in a phased manner,” he said.
The minister further said that the revival of the Bansilalpet project was possible with the constant efforts of minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav. He also praised MAUD special chief secretary Municipal Administration and HMDA metropolitan commissioner Arvind Kumar for his constant monitoring of the project.