THE collapse last week of a good portion of the façade of the historical Pucca Qila in Hyderabad is highly unfortunate. Since the fort premises is also home to some 80,000 to 100,000 people, we can only be thankful that no casualties were reported. The structure had visibly been listing for some time, and the provincial culture department says that at the time of the incident labourers were making reinforcement efforts. The province’s minister for culture immediately announced an inquiry. On Saturday, a case was registered against the contractor for ‘destroying antiquity’, while a culture department supervisor was suspended. Meanwhile, a video started circulating online that showed labourers apparently involved in demolition — using sledgehammers, no less — rather than undertaking proper restoration work. Soon thereafter came the inquiry team’s report which, broadly, accused the district administration for not cooperating in the matter of conservation.

However, this deflection of blame appears somewhat glib — even defensive. We use the latter term because it is undeniable that across-the-board renovation and restoration work persistently faces the twin plagues of lack of funding and low quality of human resource. However, if, as per the culture department’s claim, the district administration was slow in cooperating, why was work initiated in the first place? Then, where were the oversight mechanisms during the time it would have taken the workers to take heavy equipment up to the ramparts, while they should have been at work at the base? Why were the men not noticed and stopped? There are far too many unanswered questions here, and it behoves the culture department to make a more thorough inquiry into the matter, especially because the structural perils were no secret. Introspection may well be required, given that too often the temptation to demolish and rebuild takes precedence over restoration that is painstaking and slow work. However, there is little hope of this so long as the government remains unconcerned about heritage — as well as the danger unsteady structures pose to people.

Published in Dawn, September 9th, 2021