JOIN USRs 100-cr project to restore Qutb Shahi tombs
The Andhra Pradesh government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Aga Khan Foundation to give a facelift to the much-neglected Qutb Shahi tombs at a cost of Rs 100-crore over the next 10 years.
The MoU for an integrated conservation and landscape restoration project at the Quli Qutb Shah Tomb complex was signed by the state Department of Archaeology and Museums, the Quli Qutb Shah Urban Development Authority and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) and the Aga Khan Foundation.
The Quli Qutb Shah Archaeological Park comprising the Qutb Shahi Tombs Complex and Deccan Park, is one of the most significant historic medieval necropolises having 70 structures and encompassing 40 mausoleums, 23 mosques, five step-wells and water structures, a hamam (mortuary bath), pavilions, garden structures and enclosure walls built during the reign of the Qutb Shahi Dynasty that ruled the Hyderabad region for 170 years in the 16th–17th centuries.
The signing of the MoU has been preceded by a year-long documentation programme, where each of the 70 structures within the tomb complex have been documented and their conservation needs established. Topographical surveys of the entire 106 acre site have also been undertaken and a landscape master plan prepared. The Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme promotes the conservation and re-use of buildings and public spaces in historic cities. The Aga Khan Development Network agencies are presently undertaking a similar project in the Humayun's Tomb-Sundar Nursery-Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti area of Delhi, where over 50 monuments are undergoing conservation works, coupled with landscaping of over 200 acres of the World Heritage Site setting.
The conservation work on the tombs will be undertaken by master craftsmen using traditional tools, building techniques and traditional materials respecting the intention of the original builders.