Repair work of Charminar to begin soon

The preparation for repair work is expected to begin soon at the iconic Charminar where a portion of the lime stucco decoration work on one of its four minarets fell off, an official of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) said Friday.

The preliminary work of putting up scaffoldings to reach the top was expected to begin Saturday or Sunday. Some basic work had already begun, he said.

We have done the inspection... we have taken the views of the superintending archaeologist under whose tenure the conservation work in 2001 and 2010 was taken up...," he told PTI.

The repair work was expected to take around two months as lime takes time to set, unlike cement which sets in 24 hours, the official said.

A portion of the limestucco decoration workon one of the four minaretsof Charminar, the historic emblem of Hyderabad,fell off late Wednesday night.

It was a normal phenomenon with any old structure, the official said.

The Charminar was built in 1591 by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, the fifth ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, also the founder of Hyderabad city.

In August 2010, a small portion of one its four minarets fell off from the ancient structure after heavy downpour.

Each of the four tall, pointed, gracefully-carved minarets soar to a height of 48.7 metres above the ground, commanding the landscape for miles around.