BHUPALPALLY: Pandava caves or Pandavula Guttalu are famous for ancient rock art and painting on walls of the caves near hillocks. Hundreds of tourists visit here daily either to see the historical murals or for climbing rocks. Of late, tourists have been expressing disappointment over the vandalisation of the rock art inside caves. They say that the State archaeology officials have failed to protect the rock arts.
After the Unesco world heritage site tag for Ramappa Temple, visitors keep thronging the historical temple and surrounding tourists spots in Jayashankar Bhupalpally and Mulugu Districts. Pandavula Gutta is located about 50 km away from Warangal city. These caves are near Kothapally village in Regonda mandal. The archaeologists had found historical rock paintings inside the caves.
Pandavula Guttalu is a unique rock art site. It has always been inhabited by humans since prehistoric times. There are a few natural paintings on these rocks, depicting the lifestyle and hunting methods or earlier people. The paintings on the hills are of peacocks, lizards, tiger, frogs, fishes, deer etc. There are also geometrical designs and impressions in green, red, yellow and white pigment colours. Besides that, rock paintings, inscriptions of Rastrakutan times and fresco paintings of late medieval period were also discovered in these hillocks. Some of the paintings were superimposed, depicting highly developed anatomical features and curves.
Rock art is a form of landscape art that includes designs that have been placed on boulder and cliff faces, cave walls and ceilings, and on the ground surface. Speaking to Express, local archaeologist Aravind Pakide alleged that the authorities have been neglecting the rock painting arts.
The Pandavula Gutta comes under the jurisdiction of forest department. They conduct rock climbing activities here, but they are not taking care of rock paintings. Those who visiting for rock climbing activity and other tourists were writing there names and painting on rocks and they were vandalizing the prehistorical rock paintings arts. “The officials should take measures to protect the rock paintings. We demand that the State government restore the rock art that has been damaged. This work should be given to experts,” he said.
When contacted, Tourism Manager of erstwhile Warangal district Kalyanapu Suman admitted that rock paintings are vandalising by some unidentified persons. “We have already deployed the security personnel to protect the paintings. We have also taken up the issue with concerned officials,” he said.