Stucco decoration of 430-year-old Charminar falls during heavy rain

Charminar's stucco piece falls during heavy rain, causing minor damage to nearby temple; flash floods hit Hyderabad.

A piece of decorative stucco work of the Charminar’s south east minaret fell during the spell of pounding rain on Thursday evening. Fragments of the stucco pieces fell on the temple that exists abutting the 430-year-old historic monument.

“A fragment of the stucco that is less than one metre fell on top of the sheet of the temple. It was part of old stucco. Luckily, the stone portion has not been damaged. We were planning to take up conservation work but this happened due to the sudden heavy rain,” said and official of the Archaeological Survey of India, which is the custodian of the national monument.

The heavy rain triggered flash floods in many parts of the city including Dabeepura where rain water entered the Bibi Ka Alawa premises. The drain water overflowed onto the road in the Maula ka Chilla area of Yakutpura.

Low-lying areas of Banjara Hills Road no 10, Krishna Nagar, and Hakeempet were other areas that got flooded during the short spell of the rain.