Hyderabad marching forward to get World Heritage City status

Almost 100 baolis have been identified in the region, wherein 44 were undertaken and six baolis were recently inaugurated and are now full of water.

Hyderabad: Steeped in apathy and languishing in dilapidated condition for decades, the stepwells popularly known as baolis, are getting revived in different parts of the city, thanks to an initiative of the State government.

Several baolis have already been revived in the city through the government’s efforts and several groups working for heritage restoration too have joined hands in the exercise.

These efforts of the Telangana government have been received global acknowledgement with the baolis of Qutb Shahi Tombs complex restored along with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture winning the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.

Deccan Heritage Academy chairman, Veda Kumar Manikonda is all appreciation for the efforts of department of culture and municipal administration especially under the leadership of MA&UD Minister KT Rama Rao. Almost 100 baolis have been identified in the region, wherein 44 were undertaken and six baolis were recently inaugurated and are now full of water.

“The government is planning, supervising, and taking suggestions from the best consultants and implementing them all in Hyderabad, ” he said. Great work at restoring the heritage by looking at the archival images of the step-well from the past has been done and these efforts will make the government march forward to get the status of World Heritage City Status, he added.

The Qutb Shahi Tombs Complex has six stepwells:

Badi Baoli:

The Badi baoli was the first one to be restored with a capacity of 3.5 million litres. Ten steps out of 17 along with the western wall had collapsed during 2012-13 and these granite steps were reinstated.

Hammam Baoli:

The Hammam or bathhouse has a capacity of 4.7 million litres and was provided with its own step-well to fulfill the water requirements of the elaborate mechanisms for the baths.

Bagh Baoli:

The Bagh baoli located along the eastern edge of the site, on the route to Golconda was filled in. With 2 million litres of water capacity revived, it is now 12m deep, measuring 12.6 x 18.60m, and is devoid of any surviving evidence of architectural ornamentation.

Western Baoli:

This baoli is located to the west of Jamshed Quli Qutb Shah’s mausoleum and stands on the western edge of the park. This was the main distributory well amongst the network of stepwells found within the complex. The discovery of the aqueducts during excavations has shown that it received water from Durgam Cheruvu lake. This baoli has a capacity of 3.7 million litres.

Idgah Baoli:

This was the grandest stepwell of all, it was built with hand-dressed granite stones with archway access on the south side. This baoli has a 2.8 million litres of water capacity that was revived.

Eastern Baoli:

This step-well was covered in a large amount of vegetation at the site in the early 21st century. The baoli was in a state of despair after being filled with excessive vegetation growth on the remaining walls. The Eastern baoli has a capacity of 2.5 million litres.