Historic Kondaveedu Fort, capital of Reddy kings, to soon regain glory

Kondaveedu: The capital of the

Reddy kings

of the 13th century,

Kondaveedu

finally looks set to regain its lost glory. With the state government aiming to promote it as a top tourist destination, renovation and developmental works have been put on the fast track and the completion of the ghat road and the surrounding greenery have started to lure nature and history lovers to the historic hilltop. As fears around Covid-19 gradually ease, tourist inflow to the fort has also started to pick up.

Negligence by successive governments added to the decay of Kondaveedu Fort, which at one point became a favoured spot for treasure hunters digging out objects and seeking treasure they claimed to be hidden by past rulers. Over time, historical structures of value in the hill fort crumbled and broke down.

Matters improved after social activist and historian Kalli Siva Reddy swung into action and formed the Kondaveedu Development Society. A regular visitor to the fort, Siva Reddy worked overtime to convince officials and ministers to preserve the hill fort. Renovation work took off during the YS Rajasekhara Reddy regime and gained pace during the time of the TDP government.

“Finance minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy, principal advisor to CM Ajeya Kallam are very keen on overall development of Kondaveedu fort as a historical monument. We are expecting it to become a big tourist attraction very shortly,” said Siva Reddy.

Hill fortresses, built on rocky terrain, must also account for the scarcity of water. But, “the Reddy kings meticulously utilised all depressions, relatively shallow, wide and flat cavities, deep fissures, fractures, where water could be stored and in flat areas the ground was excavated in the form of reservoirs. It shows the water management skills adopted by kings several centuries ago which can be a lesson to any government of the day,” said SVS Lakshminarayana, district convener of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach).

Home minister Mekathoti Sucharita said on Sunday that all development work planned for Kondaveedu Fort renovation will be expedited soon after the Covid-19 situation eases.

Speaking at an event organised to mark

World Tourism Day

where the home minister launched a book scripted by historian Modugula Harikrishna, she said that reaching the top of the fort was a herculean task only a few decades ago.

“Kondaveedu is heritage property which we can transfer to the next generation to show the glory of the past. We will take all necessary measures to make the fort the biggest tourist attraction,” she said.


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