Facelift for Dargah Shah Raju Qattal
The dargah of Hazrat Shah Raju Qattal is set for a makeover with the state archeology and museums department taking over conservation work.
Hazrat Syed Shah Yusuf Hussaini, popularly known as Hazrat Shah Raju Qattal, a sufi saint and descendant of Hazrat Khwaja Banda Nawaz Gesudaraz of Gulbarga was buried here.
There is a belief among people that whoever visits the dargah will be bestowed with prosperity.
The dargah is specifically visited by students who come for 10, 16 and 24 consecutive Thursdays or Fridays to seek blessing and pray for their success.
According to Syed Nadeemullah Hussaini, the Sajjadah and mutawalli of the dargah, saint had prophesied that his mureed Abul Hasan Qutb Shah, who later came to be known as Tana Shah, would become the king one day, and he became the last Qutb Shahi Sultan ruler. As a mark of respect, he built the dome after the death of the saint.
This legend draws people to the dargah from far off places.
The Wakf Board had allocated `50 lakh for repairs to the dargah, of which `10 lakh was released to the department of archaeology and museums in September.
Officials from the department of archaeology visited the dargah spread over eight acres. The dome of the dargah is the tallest in the country at 164 feet.
“Our priority is to stabilise the structure first. It is a challenging task going by the height of the dome. Tenders will be shortly called and works taken up,” said director, DAM, Ms N. R. Visalatchy.
The dome of the dargah is in a bad shape with the plaster on the eastern side peeling off and rows of granite exposed to the weather. A few pigeons have also nested in the small gaps.
“The last repairs on the dargah were carried out in 2010, before the it received the Intach heritage award. Recently, officials again visited the place and carried out inspection,” said Mr Hussaini.