Shops around monument in Old city removed

HYDERABAD: Officials from the archaeology department and the Hyderabad Collectorate along with the police demolished the encroachments around Badshahi Ashoorkhana at Patherghati in Old city early Saturday morning.The officials were prevented from clearing the encroachments by MIM MLAs a couple of days ago.Armed with a AP High Court order, P Chenna Reddy, archaeology department director, along with police went to the spot at around 4.30 a.m. and demolished as many as 16 shops that encroached the monument.Chenna Reddy told Express that they successfully demolished all encroachments located at Badshahi Ashoorkhana. The archaeology department would protect Golkonda and other monuments by clearing the encroachments, he said.A few days back, when the archaeology department officials tried to demolish the shops, MIM MLAs Syed Ahmed Pasha Qaudri and Ahmed Bin Abdullah Balala, along with their supporters, objected to removing the shops leading to a mild tension. The protestors did not allow the officials to remove the encroachments.The Badshahi Ashoorkhana is one of the oldest 'Imambaras' of India, a royal house of mourning built by the city's founder Mohd Quli Qutb Shah. It was cleared of all encroachments in 2009 but some shops remained.