Archaeological dept to take over fort
Lying in neglect for a year, there is hope for Belapur Fort, the sole historical monument of Navi Mumbai
NAVI MUMBAI: Lying in neglect for over a year after one of its scaffolding collapsed in June 2021 while undergoing restoration, there is a ray of hope for the Belapur Fort, the sole historical monument of Navi Mumbai.
The fort, which continues to remain in ruins, will soon be transferred from the CIDCO to the archaeology department.
Tejas Madan Garge, Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, said, “We are in the process of getting the Belapur Fort transferred from CIDCO. Furthermore, a meeting is to be convened wherein a proposal for protection of the fort is to be presented. This proposal will be sent to the government and in the event of there being no objection, we will proceed with getting the structure notified.”
Garge elaborated that CIDCO had earlier undertaken conservation with an empanelled architect and contractor. However, in absence of technical supervision, the project could not come to its logical end.
“CIDCO has approached the directorate to declare the fort as protected monument by the state and to supervise the further conservation work. We welcome the move and shortly will undertake inspection wherein further course of action will be decided,” he added.
As per the Gazetteer of India, the fort was built by Portuguese and commanded the entrance to the Panvel River. Fortified with five bastions and equipped with twenty guns, eleven inside the fort and nine on the port, this fort, until 1737, is recorded to have constituted one of the strongest Portuguese forts in Salsette.
In mid-june, 2021, a portion of the fort’s scaffolding undergoing restoration work had collapsed, causing furore amongst residents and activists. Questions were raised on the quality of work undertaken.
“The fort also contains a temple dedicated to Govardhani Devi. There were wells with historical inscriptions dating back to the 17th century. Instead of protecting it, CIDCO was focused on making it a commercial establishment,” said Nitin Chavan, a Nerul resident. A protest march was also undertaken in 2021 questioning CIDCO on the use of concrete cement to restore a historical structure.
In 2018, CIDCO had undertaken a development plan of the fort, spending ₹17Cr, which was opposed by residents.
“There are special techniques to be used to restore a historical structure. I submitted photographs and videos to show that the contractor had used concrete cement and plywood that have caused more damage,” said Chavan. Post the incident, the work of restoration was completely stopped by CIDCO. Activist Sunil Agarwal added, “It had taken us by surprise that CIDCO, in the name of restoration work, was planning to develop the fort area as a recreational park. Natural tree that was growing from within the walls of the fort and which in turn was also supporting one of the fort’s bastions was cut, which eventually weakened the structure and led to its fall last year.” The move to transfer the structure was long overdue, claimed the residents.
CIDCO executive engineer, K Bimole, confirmed that the fort would be transferred to the archaeology department and said to be working as per the future guidelines from the authority. “Soon, a meeting will be held to decide the further course of action towards restoring the Belapur Fort,” he said.
He, however, refused to comment on the earlier restoration plans that failed.