A sorry tale of Ramappa

Palampet (Jayashankar-Bhupalpally): Many heritage structures across the erstwhile Warangal district that can contribute significantly to the State’s economy continue to lie in neglect.

One among them is the 800-year-old Ramappa temple, which is said to be one of the best examples of the Kakatiya architecture, urgently needs the government’s attention. This is the only temple in the country perhaps, to be known by the name of its sculptor - Ramappa. It may be noted here that the temple, protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), is vying for the UNESCO World Heritage Site tag.

Even though a partially collapsed compound wall and the debris of dismantled Kameshwaralayam is still strewn around, the temple still stands proudly in its fading glory.

It’s been over a year since the rock-built compound wall (backside of Nandi statue) on the east side was collapsed due to incessant rains. Until the High Court, which took Suo moto cognisance of the neglected temple, directed the ASI to restore it, there was no action from the authorities.

The ASI, which finally took up the construction of the compound wall in January, said that it would complete the works within six months. However, after eight months, the authorities have managed to construct compound wall only to the level of basement.

And there was no construction activity either for the last few weeks. Adding more problems to the ASI, a part of compound wall on the northeast is also shaky and ready to collapse at any time.

A senior official of ASI said: “It’s not all that easy to carry construction of compound wall as it has its own specifications. We have sought a design from the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Warangal. Due to recent rains, it became impossible for the cranes to move around near the construction site. Moreover, it took two months to strengthen the rock bed before taking up further construction.”

On the other hand, there was no clarity on status of revised dossier that is to be submitted to the UNESCO World Heritage status. It may be recalled here that World Heritage Committee (WHC) sought the government to resubmit the dossier after redoing its chapter-3.

Against this backdrop, the Warangal-based Kakatiya Heritage Trust (KHT) has applied for the adoption of the temple ‘Adopt a Heritage’, a Central government’s initiative that allows private and public sector to adopt heritage sites for building, operating and maintaining tourism infrastructure.

Speaking to The Hans India, the KHT Trustee M Panduranga Rao said: “A decision about the adoption of the temple will be taken at a meeting in New Delhi scheduled to be held on September 5. The meeting will also discuss about the status of the dossier sought by the World Heritage Committee. The authorities may also focus on speeding up the construction of compound wall.”