Sound and light show falls silent at Telangana’s Elagandal Fort
Built by Kakatiya rulers, the Elagandal hill fort was a stronghold of the Musunuri and Recharla Padmanayakas
Karimnagar: The Sound and Light Show at the ancient Elagandal Fort has gone defunct and has not been operated for the last few years. The Tourism Department is yet to restore the show, disappointing tourists visiting the fort.
Built by Kakatiya rulers, the Elagandal hill fort was a stronghold of the Musunuri and Recharla Padmanayakas. It also played a vital role till the district headquarters was shifted to Karimnagar by the Sixth Nizam Mir Mahbub Ali Khan in 1905. The Tourism Department launched the light and sound show in January 2017 to explain the history of the fort to the present generation.
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Besides a projector, sound system, lighting and other arrangements were made by spending Rs 4.25 crore including Rs.90 lakh of Central funds, according to official sources. A 40-minute documentary explaining the history of Elagandal was also prepared to be screened during the show. The show continued for three years without issues, with the officials charging Rs 50 for adults and Rs 25 for children.
However, some equipment got damaged when lightning struck in 2020. Following the pandemic and lockdowns in force, repairs were not taken up. Though district tourism officials are said to have taken the issue to the notice of higher officials, the repairs were yet to be taken up.
According to officials, even if the show is not being operated, they were paying minimum power charges between Rs.3,000 to Rs.3,500 every month.
Speaking to Telangana Today, a tourist, Jamalpur Ganesh wanted the Tourism Department to restore the show since it would help the present generation to know about the history of the fort. At the same time, others pointed out that transportation was an issue for tourists.
Though the fort is located just 17 km from the district headquarters, there is no proper transportation facility. People have to reach the fort either in their own vehicle or on auto-rickshaws. The show used to operate from 6.30 pm to 7.10 pm. Tourists would not get autos after the show.
The fort is expected to have transport facilities once the ongoing works on the Karimnagar-Elagandal old road including construction of a bridge across Manair river were completed. All bus services towards Vemulawada temple town and Sircilla would pass through Elagandal village once the road was completed.
District tourism officer Venkateshwar Rao said the show equipment was completely destroyed and that repairs would be expensive. He said they had approached TSRTC authorities to operate a bus during the show timings. Transportation problems would be solved once the Karimnagar-Elagandal road was completed, he said.
