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Minister's remark on demolition of iconic Charminar sparks outrage

Hyderabad - Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mahmood Ali has said that the government may even have to pull down the over 400-year-old iconic Charminar "once it becomes older".

In a monumental blunder, quite literally, Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mahmood Ali has said that the government may even have to pull down the over 400-year-old iconic Charminar "once it becomes older". The landmark Qutub Shahi monument has been the symbol of Hyderabad, and is as synonymous with the city as it is for biryani and Irani chai (tea).
Ali, who made the controversial remark in the context of the opposition to the demolition of the Osmania General Hospital (also a heritage structure) in the Old City, said: "Is it not futile to spend Rs1 billion on ancient structures to turn them into a museum? What is it that people need - medical treatment or a museum? The government has already earmarked Rs1 billion for a new hospital in place of the old structure, and we will go ahead with it," the deputy to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said, adding that human beings and buildings had a life span and once they outlive their age, they have to make way for new ones.
"Instead of the government spending Rs1 billion from the taxpayers' money and demolishing the structure (Osmania Hospital) 10 years later, we are turning it into a good hospital now. People of the Old City require a new hospital to meet their requirements," he said.
"Similarly, if Charminar becomes weak after about 300 years or even 500 years, it will have to be razed to the ground since otherwise, it would put people's lives in jeopardy," Ali continued in justification of his argument for pulling down heritage structures.
Conservationists and activists, horrified by the senior minister's statement, were quick to react. Hyderabad-based conservation expert Anuradha Naik, expressing concern over Ali's remarks, said: "Our duty is to protect heritage and pass it on to the next generation. It is our responsibility to see to it that the next generation receives it in a better condition. We have no right to demolish something which is not ours. We are only guardians of heritage."
Former Heritage Conservation Committee member Sajjad Shahid too was taken aback by the deputy chief minister's statement. "No one dare speak about demolishing Charminar," he said.
Meanwhile, after putting his foot in his mouth, Mahmood Ali sought to wriggle out of the mess claiming that he was being quoted out off context. "How can I say that Charminar will be demolished? It is the symbol of Telangana. It is not in a bad condition right now. And I gave that example only in the context of explaining the government's stand on Osmania General Hospital," he said.
Seizing the opportunity to put the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government on the mat, Rajya Sabha MP and senior Congress leader V Hanumantha Rao demanded a clarification from the chief minister on the issue. "What Mahmood Ali has said is absurd. Heritage structures have to be protected and not demolished. There is eight acres of land available near the hospital where a new hospital can be built. Going by the deputy chief minister's remarks, should the Taj Mahal in Agra be demolished since it has become old?" he asked. -news@khaleejtimes.com