HYDERABAD: As the 130-year-old historic Saifabad Palace was reduced to debris to make way for a new secretariat complex, heritage lovers and historians expressed worry over the fate of two cannons, which are believed to be over a century old.
The cause of concern for many is that the government has neither approached the department of archaeology nor made any move to shift them to the Telangana Archaeology Museum.
Mounted on wooden wheels just before the main entrance of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh secretariat building, the cannons used to be a visual spectacle for visitors. Historians are urging government to shift them to the museum at the earliest so that the cannons remain intact. Ever since the government barred entry to the secretariat in September last year, little is known about the antique weapons.
“These cannons were built with heavy metals…Due to poor maintenance they have lost sheen. Moreover, authorities used enamel paint to refurbish them which is not advisable,” said Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Telangana convenor, Anuradha Reddy. “It is the responsibility of authorities to shift them to the museum by following safety measures. They should not carry them in garbage trucks,” she added.
