Karnataka - Bijapur   

Citadel needs attention

Bijapur: The Adil Shah kings, who ruled Bijapur for nearly two centuries (1489 to 1686) had made it one of the magnificent cities by constructing palaces, halls and gardens. These monuments were protected by fortifications consisting an outer fort wall enclosing the town and an inner citadel, popularly known as “ark-killa”.

The citadel in Bijapur was protected during their regime by the 6.5-km outer fort wall, surrounded by a moat and strengthened by 106 bastions of various designs. But now, the wall is completely destroyed and one can hardly find its remains in the district.

A “curtain” with several bastions, rampant mound and a ditch defended the citadel situated in the centre of the fort. It characterises the strength of the ruler in the way it was made. The structure and the best of material used to build the monument still define the prowess of the rulers.

But now it is also on the verge of extinction due to encroachment by local people. To protect this citadel, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had cleaned the surroundings and reconstructed some damaged portions a year ago spending lakhs of rupees.

However, encroachments have come up again damaging the structure. The ditch at the outer side of the citadel is being used as garbage dump. The appeals of the ASI officials to people not to throw garbage in the area have gone unheeded.

ASI sources told The Hindu that it is impossible to protect the citadel without the support of the people.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Citadel needs attention
Teachers urged to focus on quality of education

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu