Hyderabad: As a city filled with artefacts of immense historical importance, the authorities seem to have little interest in preserving them in Hyderabad. For instance, a big cannon dating back to the Qutb Shahi era is has been literally lying in the dumps in Aliabad in Old City, in the midst of garbage and parked vehicles.
The cannon was part of the fortification of Hyderabad city. “It has been lying here for several years now. Neither the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) nor any other agency visits the place and shifts it to a safer place,” said Mohd Yousuf, a local resident who stays near Mumtaz Café located close by.
“If it is not shifted to a secure place, then we fear that some people will steal it,” said a local woman, who did not want to be named.
Guarding the city
The city, during the Nizam era from 1724 to 1948, had a massive fortification wall that guarded Hyderabad for about a century. The impressive old wall – 18 feet high and eight feet wide – encircled the city for approximately six miles. Bastions (burj) were also built as part of it.
The wall, according to historians, had 13 darwazas (gates) and 13 khirkhis (wicker gates) and ran through Petlaburj, Nayapul, Dabeerpura, Aliabad, Fatehdarwaza, Doodhbowli, Puranapul, Mir Jumla Talab and Lal Darwaza in Hyderabad.
According to historians, such bastions were constructed at strategic locations for the military to keep watch. They differed in sizes with cannons being placed on top. Adequate cannonballs were kept nearby to use in case an enemy attacks.
Some of these cannons can be found around the fortification wall that still exists, albeit in ruins, from Aliabad to the Lal Darwaz banyan tree. “The where many cannons kept on the burj. These were pulled down and were lying in the trash and mud,” said Shankar Yadav, a local resident.
A few cannons were shifted to the old Shahalibanda Police Station, located in the lane opposite the Shah Ghouse Hotel, where they stand as showpieces. However, the situation is no different at the Golconda Fort, where one can find cannon balls lying at the Dhankota near the Fateh Darwaza. After the authorities failed to ensure their safety, the huge metal balls were shifted and kept near a small park in Dhankota by the locals.
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