Kakatiya-era Warangal temple razed: Centre books case; restoration promised

Collector promises restoration as district administration denies demolition, calls structure "dilapidated."

Hyderabad: 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.

Lawyer Immeneni Rama Rao filed the complaint alleging that the structure, a Shiva temple dating to the reign of Kakatiya ruler Ganapati Deva (1199–1262 AD), was razed using heavy machinery to make way for a Young India Integrated Residential School in Khanapur mandal.

The complaint also 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. 

It has sought action against officials under relevant provisions of the Act and called for a formal inquiry. The National Monuments Authority is expected to examine the circumstances leading to the demolition.

Collector denies deliberate act, promises restoration

The district administration, however, pushed back. In a rejoinder dated Thursday, May 7, the Office of the District Collector, Warangal, said a joint inspection conducted on May 6 by the Revenue Divisional Officer, Narsampet, Archaeology Department officials, the tahsildar of Khanapur and representatives of 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. 

It said that while clearing 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, not recorded as endowment land and had already been allotted to the Tribal Welfare Department. Crucially, Archaeology Department officials confirmed that the structure “is not notified or recorded in the list of protected monuments or archaeological sites.”

District Collector Warangal, accompanied by MLA of 103-Narsampet Assembly Constituency, visited the site and assured that the structure would be restored at the same location “at the earliest” in consultation with historians, Stapathis and the Archaeology Department. The administration also said steps would be initiated to get the structure notified with the Archaeology Department.

What was lost

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 demolition comes even as the Telangana government is spending hundreds of crores to renovate the Omkareshwara temple on the banks of the Musi River in Manchirevula.