Charminar damaged as chunk of pillar falls off

Charminar, the historic emblem of Hyderabad, has suffered damage as a portion of the stucco decoration work on one of its minarets fell off, officials said on Thursday.

Officials of the Archaeological Survey of India visited the monument and were inspecting the damage. The ASI had taken up the conservation of the four towering minarets of the over 400-year-old monument a few months ago.

"It was a small piece of the newly-constructed part on the minaret. It fell down on Wednesday night within the premises only," a senior official said.

As per the initial information, 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.

The official said the ASI officials were doing the inspection and they could give the exact reason.

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.

Photograph: SnapsIndia