The large serai surrounding the Kulsumpura Masjid in the Karwan area is set to be turned into a junior college and hostel. The project is being taken up at a cost of ₹ 8.75 crore according to the foundation stone laid recently.
The Kulsumpura Masjid and the attached Serai is part of the old trade route that connected the Golconda fort with Machilipatnam. It is a protected site under the Department of Heritage, Telangana. While the masjid that is used for regular prayers is in good condition, the Serai built with stone and limestone plaster is in a state of disrepair. Writing in the early 20th century, Syed Bilgrami notes the state of the masjid. “Through the main road leading to Golconda near Mustaidpura, there exists a bylane which is called Kulthumpura named after this lady where there is a nice mosque built by her which is in an excellent state of preservation,” writes Mr Bilgrami.
“The heritage of Telangana is under extreme threat. If this is the fate of a monument protected by Heritage Telangana, the fate of other monuments without a protective tag can well be imagined. We may as well forget about a Unesco heritage city tag,” said Anuradha Reddy, convener of Indian National Trust of Art and Cultural Heritage in Hyderabad.
