Negombo’s heritage left to rot?
It is nothing in scale compared to the Galle Fort ramparts and one can easily miss this little patch of colonial history-- the remains of the fort in Negombo. Built by the Portuguese and then modified by the Dutch, the British apparently destroyed most of the fort and used the bricks to build a prison.
A clock tower built by the British in commemoration of Queen Victoria’s Jubilee celebrations in 1887 stands atop of what remains of the fort.
But it isn’t the size of the fort that disappoints you as much as the sheer neglect of the area; plastic bottles and sili sili bags strewn around the entrance and foliage left to grow wild.
On a visit there on Sunday, an unsightly, foul-smelling garbage dump on the path to both the remains of the fort and the prison premises greeted us after we nearly missed the dirt road turn-off as there was no visible signboard. When we asked a local the way to the ‘kotuwa’ he seemed bemused.
With the quaint-looking Dutch period church, St. Stephen’s -- built apparently on an artificially mounted hill -- in the vicinity of the fort ruins, a little bit of maintenance and planning could turn this small spot into a picture perfect heritage site for all to enjoy, after a visit to the bustling Negombo fish market close by. Perhaps, the plan could include a terraced garden leading to the fort clock tower and more importantly proper garbage disposal. A disappointed sight-seer
Colombo