Portions of the Golconda Fort’s Naya Qila (new fort), built between the 14th and 17th centuries, have given way, creating a three-metre-wide hole. When it was constructed, four horses could run abreast on the wall that is nine metres wide and 12 metres high. The almost vertical wall with ashlar masonry, where dressed blocks of granite are laid together without bonding material, has now begun to slope inwards, its earthen sections washed away.
The Naya Qila, which encloses a hillock and a lake, was added to the fort by the Qutb Shahi dynasty in 1656, after the Mughal Army under Aurangzeb used the hillock to train his guns at the older fort, built in the 12th century.
The path to the African baobab tree, one of the tourist attractions at the fort, has been restricted to prevent further damage. “We will inspect and restore the wall. The granite is strong and has not been affected,” said an official of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which is the custodian of the national monument.
