Heritage Bulldozed? 800Yr Old Kakatiya Temple Destroyed

Opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have condemned the demolition of an ancient temple in Telangana's Warangal district.

BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao on Friday termed the act as outrageous and demanded immediate restoration of the temple.

“In this state, the rule of fools who have no understanding whatsoever of Telangana's history, culture, or existence continues. It is outrageous that the state Congress government has demolished and razed to the ground an ancient Shiva temple built by the Kakatiyas 800 years ago near Ashoknagar in Khanapur Mandal, Warangal district,” Rama Rao posted on ‘X’.

“The Revanth government, which ruthlessly razed thousands of homes, and mercilessly felled lakhs of trees, is now refusing to spare even our historical heritage. I demand that this destruction be stopped immediately and the Shiva temple be restored,” added KTR.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also condemned the demolition of the ancient temple.

“The Congress's negligence toward our heritage wealth has once again been exposed through this action. Built during the reign of Kakatiya emperor Ganapati Deva, this temple, which stood as a symbol of Telangana's historical and cultural splendor, has now been reduced to a heap of rubble,” reads a statement posted on Telangana BJP’s ‘X’ handle.

“The most tragic aspect is that, despite being under the protection of the state's archaeology department, it was razed to the ground in this manner, which is outrageous,” it said.

The BJP alleged that under Revanth Reddy’s regime, even government-protected historical structures lack the slightest sense of security.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture and Archaeology Department, Government of India, has reportedly registered a case over the demolition of the temple.

Lawyer Rama Rao Immaneni had lodged a complaint before the National Monuments Authority.

The temple was allegedly demolished using bulldozers for the construction of an Integrated School.

The temple reportedly had a rare inscription dated February 1231 A.D. The seven-line Telugu inscription was documented by the Heritage Department in 1965.

The temple complex was said to be part of the historic “Kota Katta” mud fort region surrounded by ancient ponds and fortifications.