Hyderabad:
A portion of the limestucco decoration work on one of the four minarets of Charminar, the historic emblem of Hyderabad,fell off late Wednesday night, officials said Thursday.
Officials of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) visited the monument and inspected the damage.
The ASI had taken up the conservation of the four towering minarets of the over 400-year-old monument a few years ago.
“It was a small piece, a part of the stucco on the minaret. It fell down Wednesday night within the premises only,” a senior official told PTI.
The official said the piece of the lime stucco work probably got detached from the granite slab as it could not stick properly with the previous one and fell off.
A large number of onlookers gathered near the monument after the incident, however,no one was injured.
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 the ancient structure after a 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.
