Telangana: Historic Khilashapur fort wall crumbles

Jangaon: With the government turning a blind eye, several historical structures are being reduced to rubble. In such a glaring example, the fortification wall of the historical Khilashapur Fort built by Sardar Sarvai Papanna collapsed partially on Thursday. Papanna also known as Papadu, who defied imperial authority of the mighty Mughals and Golconda kings, had built this fort in Khilashapur, his native village, in the 17th century.

While the then rulers called him a 'bandit', he was a hero for the locals. In fact, historians like Barbara and Thomas Metcalf described Papanna as a Robin Hood. The life and deeds of Papadu who hailed from an ordinary toddy-tapper family were described in the book 'A Social History of the Deccan, 1300 – 1761' authored by Richard M. Eaton, published by Cambridge University Press.

Although Papadu built forts at Bhongir, Thatikonda, Kolanpak, Cheriyal, Karimnagar, Huzurabad and Husnabad, he made Khilashapur fort as his capital. The outer wall of the Khilashapur fort was constructed by stones and the inside structures were built by dung sunnam (lime mortar mix). The fort has five buruzus (fortified towers). The ramparts of the fort were built conveniently to place cannon fires. Currently, there are only two cannons existing and the other two are missing. The fort is also believed to have secret tunnels to escape. In all, the fort reflects the war capabilities of Papadu.

The State Archaeological department had taken up the conservation of the iconic fort in 2018. Rs 4.5 crore were also earmarked for its conservation. Even though the State Government had promised to develop it as a tourist place, the work on restoration has been moving at a snail's pace. Against this backdrop, the fortification collapsed on Thursday. Luckily, no one was injured. It's learnt that the police who noticed cracks on the wall moved the nearby residents from their houses.

Even though we have expressed fears over the possibility of fort crumbling, the authorities didn't heed to our request, the nearby residents said.

Aravind Arya Pakide, a history buff, who also belongs to Khilashapur region, said, "Successive governments failed to focus on the historical significance of the fort. It's high time that the government take up conservation on a war-footing measure."