The State government has decided to take conservation, protection and development of historical and heritage sites of Gulbarga and Bidar districts at a cost of Rs.1 crore in the next three years. Besides Bidar and Gulbarga, the artefacts of historically siginficant Bijapur district will also be covered under the programme.
The decision to spend money on the hostorical sites in the three districts is believed to boost tourism in this part of the State.
A team of officials of the Department of  Archaeology, Museums and Heritage was recently in Gulbarga to study on the steps to be taken for the development of the neglected places of historical and archaeological signifcance.
According to department’s Commissioner V A Machaknur, in Gulbarga city it has been planned to develop a number of Islamic monuments including Chor Gumbaz, Shahabazar Mosque, Hasan Gangu Bahmani Tomb, Langarki Masjid and other monuments.
Alotted amount
Similarly, the department intends to develop monuments coming under its administrative purview in Bidar and Bijapur districts.
After inspecting the historical monuments in Bidar and Gulbarga districts, the Commissioner felt that there was a possibility of spending about Rs.40 lakh to Rs.50 lakh in Bidar.
However, the exact amount to be spent could not be quantified right now.
The allocation of funds for a particular monument depends upon the existing situation of the monument.
While developing the monuments care will be taken to retain their original architeture and style. Most of the monuments have been built with soil and stones of the region and if cement was used for their preservation or development it may affect the signifance of the original style and substance, Machaknur noted.
The Commssioner informed that an office of the deputy director of archaeology department in Gulbarga would be started and an officer would be posted there soon.
At present, the government museum here is managed by a curator.
“A final decision on the establishment of the archaeological office here will be taken soon,” Machaknur added.
The Commissioner felt the archaeological monuments of north Karnataka, particularly those in the districts of Bidar, Gulbarga and Bijapur remained neglected probably because of their long distance from the State capital.
With the establishment of the deputy diector’s office, the legacy of neglect would come to an end, he hoped.