WARANGAL: An 800-year-old Shiva Temple dating back to the Kakatiya period was demolished by authorities for government-proposed Integrated School at Ashoknagar in Khanapur mandal of Narsampet constituency in Warangal district on Tuesday. The ancient stone structure, which was under the jurisdiction of the archaeology department, was razed using bulldozers to clear the land.
The demolition has sparked intense protests, with locals alleging that the contractor levelled the shrine arbitrarily. They claimed the action was carried out with the support of local MLA Donthi Madhava Reddy, bypassing rules with regard to structures under the protection of the archaeology department.
Serious concerns were raised regarding whether or not the executing agency obtained the necessary clearances from the archaeology and endowments departments before destroying the heritage site.
The Kotha Telangana Charitra Brundam (KTCB) has strongly condemned the incident, calling it a senseless destruction of historical wealth.
Sreeramoju Haragopal, convener of the KTCB, questioned the rationale behind the move, noting that the 13th-century temple could have easily been integrated into the school’s landscape rather than being destroyed. He pointed out that while such a monument takes years of craftsmanship to build, it was reduced to rubble in a single day.
As tensions simmered in the village, history enthusiasts and locals demanded an immediate explanation from the state government. They have appealed to the higher authorities to intervene, halt further destruction of heritage assets in the area and hold those responsible for the unauthorized demolition accountable.
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