BJP demands contractor to restore historic Shiva temple demolished in Telangana

(BJP) general secretary of Warangal district Rana Pratap Reddy cautioned the Congress government not to disturb temples in the name of development.

Hyderabad: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary of Warangal district Rana Pratap Reddy has warned that the saffron workers will identify and hold a dharna at the residence of the contractor who demolished 800 years old Kakatiya-era Shiva temple located in Ashok Nagar village of Khanapur mandal, for constructing a Young India Integrated Residential School on that land.

Declaring that BJP will ensure that the contractor will construct the temple at the very spot where it once stood, he cautioned the Congress government not to disturb temples in the name of development.

On Friday, he, along with BJP workers met Collector Satya Sharada, when she was inspecting the temple’s ruins, and urged her to restore the temple at the very location.

She informed him that officials of the Heritage Telangana Department were summoned, and that the heritage structure will be restored. She asked him to give it in writing to her, whatever representations he wanted to make.

Speaking with the media, Reddy questioned what happened to the 14-acre land that was previously under the temple. He demanded that the Heritage Telangana Department and Endowments Department work together to bring the historic temple to its past glory.

Meanwhile, the Union Ministry of Culture and the Archaeology Department have registered a case over the demolition of an 800-year-old temple built during the Kakatiya era at Ashok Nagar in Warangal district, following a complaint to the National Monuments Authority.

The complaint lodged by advocate I Rama Rao alleged failure by authorities to constitute a Heritage Conservation Committee as mandated under the Telangana Heritage Act, and contended that the structure could have been relocated rather than demolished. 

He has sought action against officials under relevant provisions of the Act and called for a formal inquiry.

However, in a rejoinder dated Thursday, May 7, the office of Warangal Collector claimed that in a joint inspection conducted on May 6 by the Revenue Divisional Officer or Narsampet, Heritage Telangana officials, the Mandal Revenue Officer of Khanapur and representatives of the Telangana State Education Welfare and Infrastructure Development Corporation (TGEWIDC) and the executing agency, found that the land was heavily overgrown with thick bushes and trees. 

The rejoined stated that while clearing the vegetation for levelling work, “remnants of an old dilapidated structure were noticed on the ground,” and that “no dismantling activity was carried out by the executing agency.

The administration further stated the 30-acre land is government land, was not recorded as endowment land, and had already been allotted to the Tribal Welfare Department.

Narsampet MLA Donthi Madhava Reddy who visited the site, had assured that the temple will be restored, and that the idol of Saraswathi, the goddess of knowledge will also be installed inside the Shiva temple after its restoration at the earliest.

The Shiva temple, situated within a fortified mud-wall enclosure dating to the 13th century AD, occupied less than half an acre within the 20-acre school project site beside a Sainik School. According to S Haragopal, convener of Kotha Telangana Charithra Brundam, the temple housed stone inscriptions referring to Ganapati Deva as “Maharaju,”  or the king of kings.

The granite pillars and the inscriptions are now buried under rubble. Reports also indicate the sanctum sanctorum was dug up, raising suspicions that the contractor may have been searching for treasure believed to be hidden beneath the structure.

The villagers also reported that in the past miscreants used detonators to blast parts of the temple with an intent to find treasure inside.