Hyderabad, May 27 -- The Telangana Heritage Department has asked the ongoing work at Darul Shifa to be stopped immediately as it was being carried out with cement mortar without following guidelines by a contractor hired by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). The 'restoration' work had ended up damaging ancient inscriptions on the historic monument that was built around 1595.

The issue was raised earlier this month by activists, who said that a historic inscription at Darul Shifa, dating back over 400 years, was damaged in the name of development during ongoing renovations at the site. Following this, an appeal was made to the Telangana Heritage Department to take the monument under it.

In a memo dated May 19 to the GHMC...