Hyderabad: Restoring the glory of undiscovered and poorly maintained heritage structures can help put the state on the global tourism map, said experts at a conference on ‘Conservation and maintenance of Telangana monuments’. The conference was held at the Salar Jung Museum on Saturday.
Highlighting one such neglected structure was Col Kunwar Ajeet Singh (retd). “The Koulas Fort, which is the oldest in the state, is crumbling and little is being done to restore it,” he said. He added that the fort that falls on the national highway to Nanded, is home to beautiful gateways, religious structures and the Jagadamba Bhavani canon.
There are several such structures, said Anuradha Reddy, INTACH, Hyderabad convenor. “Many heritage structures are protected, but are neglected. There are many that are undiscovered and undocumented,” she said.
Ganesh Rao, president, SKAL International, Hyderabad, said that more effort must be made to highlight Telangana as a tourist hub. “Monuments not only need money to be maintained, but also efforts such as sustained upkeep and cleanliness,” he said.
N Taher, former director, Archaeological Survey of India, stressed on the need of responsible tourism. “It is important to keep in mind carrying capacity of a site or a monument and the infrastructure to sustain additional footfall.”
About the lacunae in state tourism, Vijay Mohan Raj, director, SKAL International, said, “While we have great products, we have failed to market them effectively. We have now created a digital platform as a first step towards showcasing the hidden treasures.”
The conference was organised by INTACH, Historical Society of Hyderabad and SKAL International.
