Iconic Ramappa temple gets Unesco heritage tag
The 13th century Ramappa temple, the abode of Lord Rudreshwara, in Palampet of Mulugu district, was declared as a Unesco world heritage site on Sunday, the first to achieve this status in Telangana.
“Two years of hard work has paid off and Ramappa Temple received its well-deserved recognition,” state tourism minister V. Srinivas Goud told a hurriedly convened news conference here in the evening.
“We thank everyone who worked hard for today’s achievement. More than anything else, we bow to the forgotten and nameless artisans and workers who built the temple in the 13th century,” Goud said.
In a development that was nothing short of a diplomatic triumph for India, the Ramappa temple was accorded the much sought-after Unesco world heritage site status at the ongoing World Heritage Committee meeting in Fuzhou, China. Russia, a long-time friend of India, threw its weight behind the Indian submission
Excellent! Congratulations to everyone, especially the people of Telangana. The iconic Ramappa temple showcases the outstanding craftsmanship of the great Kakatiya dynasty. I would urge you all to visit this majestic temple complex and get a first-hand experience of its grandness — Narendra Modi,
Prime Minister
recognition as a Unesco world heritage site. This support ultimately helped India overcome opposition to the proposal from Norway, and ended with 17 countries backing the proposal. The inscription of the Ramappa temple as a world heritage site occurred at 4.26 pm IST.
A beaming Goud said Sunday’s landmark development was a result of the state of Telangana emerging from the shadows of united AP.
The marvel of Kakatiya era, Ramappa temple in Palampet of Mulugu district, has become the face of Telangana on the global tourism front with the award of world heritage site tag by the Unesco on Sunday.
A festive mood engulfed the erstwhile Warangal district, especially in Palampet village about 65 kilometres from Hanamkonda. Villagers cheered the announcement as the temple received the Unesco recognition.
However, the locals say if not for their combined efforts to protect it, the temple may not have survived today.
Former sarpanch and convenor of Ramappa Temple Protection Committee Venkataram Mohan Rao said a tunnel was being dug as part of the Devadula irrigation project in 2010, against the norms of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as the contract company proposed to dig the tunnel which passed dangerously close to the temple.
“We issued notices to the company but the then Andhra Pradesh government supported the contractors. Without giving up, we formed the Ramappa temple protection committee with members like MLA Chukka Ramaiah, Prof Jayadheer
Tirumal Rao, Prof Panduranga Rao and several others to fight against this and successfully stopped the tunnel. If not for the efforts of these people, the
temple would not have stood today,” he said.
Prof M. Panduranga Rao, who worked extensively for the Ramappa temple to be nominated for the Unesco heritage site through Kakatiya Heritage Trust (KHT), expressed happiness over their hard work finally making Telangana proud.
“We participated in the live interaction with Unesco. It is a great achievement for the Telangana government which successfully projected Ramappa temple into the list of Unesco's world heritage sites. BV Papa Rao from KHT, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao and I wrote a letter regarding the temple to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ASI, union minister Kishan Reddy and all worked extraordinarily and helped make this a possibility,” he said.