Telangana govt focused on protecting, rejuvenating architecture in State: KTR

Hyderabad: The Telangana Government will incorporate facets of Indian architecture for the proposed 15 new bridges on Musi. The new Secretariat complex under construction will also use several aspects of Deccani and Kakatiya architecture, said Industries and IT Minister KT Rama Rao. Speaking at the ArchUstsav, an industry event orgainsed by the Indian Institute of […]

Hyderabad: The Telangana Government will incorporate facets of Indian architecture for the proposed 15 new bridges on Musi. The new Secretariat complex under construction will also use several aspects of Deccani and Kakatiya architecture, said Industries and IT Minister KT Rama Rao.

Speaking at the ArchUstsav, an industry event orgainsed by the Indian Institute of Architects (Telangana Chapter) on Saturday, he said that Telangana focused on protecting and rejuvenating the architecture in the State including the mammoth irrigation tanks built in the Kakatiya era.

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Hyderabad is a blend of old and new cultures. It has heritage structures like the 430-year Charminar, Qutub Shahi Tombs, Osmania General Hospital, Archaeology Museum, Central Library, Osmania University, a string of Khamans and step wells and others. The Secunderabad side has English-style architecture due to the presence of the Cantonment. The new-age icons include the unique Cable-stayed bridge and skyscrapers with glass facades, he said.

Citing excerpts from ‘The Splendour of Hyderabad’, authored by MA Nayeem, Rama Rao said Hyderabad has more than 20 architecture styles including Hindu Temple Architecture, Indo-Egyptian, Indo-Islamic and others. Architecture moves with culture, he said about the influences. The city also has many step wells, palaces and bridges. The State took efforts to rejuvenate and preserve the culture of the State. The mammoth irrigation tanks built in the Kakatiya era are timeless jewels. The Ramappa Temple in Palampet of Mulugu, which is known for the carvings of dancers, animals and musicians in a unique way, is now declared a World Heritage Site, he said.

“Floating bricks were used in the Ramappa Temple. That tells about the architectural prowess,” he said. Architecture is undergoing a lot of change. Telangana is ensuring that new Government structures like T-Hub, Police Command, IMAGE Tower and others borrow some traditional architectural facets and also be safe and energy-efficient,” he said.

Jogging his memory lane, Rama Rao recollected the impact Fountainhead, a 1943 novel by Russian-American author Ayn Rand, had on him. The novel’s protagonist, Howard Roark, is a young architect who battles conventional standards and refuses to compromise with an architectural establishment unwilling to accept innovation.

“That got me thinking. Should I follow the stereotypes or create a new path? That is the dilemma for all architects, for all urban development Ministers on a day-to-day basis. Cities are engines of economic development. We cannot afford to destroy them by not creating enough infrastructure and not catering to the urban needs of the citizens. The economy will tank if they do not do well,” he said.

“More investments and people are flocking to cities. There is a need to keep pace with the rapid infra requirements. If we do not focus, it will be a problem. That is the problem that many cities in the world and India are facing,” he said invoking Mahatma Gandhi, who said ‘India lives in its villages.

Telangana in the last eight years grew on several fronts- per capita income, IT exports, agriculture, construction, innovation, GSDP, GDP contribution, employment generation, green cover, sustainability, quality of living, ease of doing business and other aspects.

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