hyderabad a stones throw away from the famous khairtabad mosque in the narrow bylanes stands a qutub shahiera structure that paints a sad picture with no visible effort made to attract visitorshidden from view and erased from the citys memory this crumbling heritage structure is the tomb of khairati begum its also known as khairunnisas tombwhile the minarets of the tomb are covered with overgrown vegetation which could be the reason for huge cracks developing the entire structure is also filled with a thick layer of black depositthe vegetal growth is particularly heavy on the dome which is also covered with a thick layer of black deposit according to locals the black layer could have formed due to vehicular pollutionalong with the impressive stuccowork the lime plaster used because it is less prone to cracks and shields softer materials from shear stress can also be seen peeling off at many placesheritage activists say the tomb has been lying in this condition for years though it is a protected architectural monumentmy last visit to the tomb was heartening there was garbage strewn everywhere construction material lying on the platform and graffiti on the walls it is among the worst maintained heritage structures in hyderabad said p anuradha reddy coconvener of indian national trust for art and cultural heritage intachthis monument has been crying for attention since years if this is the condition of a heritage structure that is right in the heart of the city imagine the condition of other monuments she saidthe tomb though known as khairunnisas tomb is not her tomb it was built by khairatunnisa daughter of sultan mohammed qutb shah 16121626 for her teacher akhund mulla abdul malik however the tomb has been lying empty ever since malik died while he was on a pilgrimage and not in hyderabadan official from the state archaeology and museums department said tenders were passed and repair work of the tomb will start soon