Earthmover deployed to cut through moat of Golconda Fort

GHMC creating a channel to drain the water from Shahatam Cheruvu, which is flooding colonies that came up inside its full tank level

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation deployed an earthmover to cut through the Golconda Fort’s moat on its northern side Sunday. “We are creating a channel to drain the water from the Shahatam Cheruvu. The old channel is blocked due to which houses are flooded on the other side,” said a GHMC employee supervising the work. Chunks of the moat wall were strewn at the site on Monday after the earthmover was moved out of the site. The Golconda Fort is a nationally protected monument under the control of Archaeological Survey of India and no construction activity is permitted in the 100-metre radius from the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act. “Please consider the humanitarian aspect. Many houses will get flooded if this is not cleared,” said Sanauddin, a GHMC official supervising work on Monday, who promised to show the No-Objection Certificate issued by ASI but did not. “We are cleaning the silt to restore the old channel,” said Mr. Sanauddin, but could not explain why an earthmover was required to clean silt in a clogged water channel. “They are saying they got the NOC from Delhi in March. I will have to check our documents,” said an ASI official.