Frustrated
over the inaction by authorities, the fort lovers and history enthusiasts took
the repairs of the Sinhgad fort into their hands. They claimed that parts
of the fort’s Kalyan Gate were collapsing continuously putting a question mark
on the stability of the fort. That is why a group of the volunteers went up the
fort and carried out the repairs of about 2 feet of the wall.
About
50 members of Sahyadri Pratishtan had warned that it will rebuilt relics at the
Sinhgad fort, about 30 kms from the city. The actually did the same on Thursday
even as the state archaeological department opposed the act. Shramik
Gojamgunde, founder of the organization claimed that the campaign was
successful and the members repaired the tower at the Kalyan Gate. They also
reported that a major portion of the tower along the door has collapsed
fighting with monsoons.
“A
major chunk of the tower collapsed last year and since then 10-15 stones are
falling time and again. This has happened this monsoon also. All the stones
which fell off from the tower were lying near the wall and steps going down to
the Kalyan village. We removed those stones and piled them in a side so that
they could be placed in their original place,” said Gojamgunde.
A
team from the organization visited the fort on July 11 and found that outer
wall and towers at the forts are either fallen off or in the danger of
falling off.
However,
V N Kamble, assistant director of the state archaeology department, blamed the
police for inaction. said, “The Sinhgad is a protected monument. The organization had given me a letter to repair the tower within 7 days but it
could not have been done. A certain procedure has to be followed and our
headquarter has to be conveyed. I had conveyed to him not to do this agitation
and don’t harm the structure. I had informed the district collector as well as
police officials but they didn’t take any action.”
The
archaeological department has sent a team of experts on Friday to the fort to assess
the situation. Kamble said the team will submit its report and then action will
be taken against the organization for ‘vandalizing the monument’. “I will
first get the report and will talk to my seniors. By Monday, we will decide the
future course of action. They could have adopted the fort which is legal way of
conservation and approved by our department,” he said.
Kamble
had told earlier that a tender of Rs 1.21 Crores has been floated and sent to
the state government for approval. That tender includes the works of
restructuring the Kalyan Gate, cleaning and desilting of the wells found on the
fort and weeding out the bushes grown on the outer walls of the fort.”
The
plans for the renovation of Sinhgad were in pipeline since 2005. The proposal
was approved in 2005 and the actual work began in 2008. The budget allocated
was Rs. 3.76 crore however most of the that budget has been spent in
making roads or other works rather than maintaining the monuments. The state
archaeology department had prepared a plan for the renovation of Sinhgad Fort
at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore. The work was to be completed by this May.
