The historic Raigad Fort, where the coronation of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was held in the year 1674, initially had more than 350 structures which have been buried in the last 300 years. An excavation drive will be conducted at these 350 sites to find remains of the buried structures.
Raigad Development Authority (RDA) Chairman and Rajya Sabha MP Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati said that one of the sites will be opened soon. He further said that excavation has already been carried out at this site but, it is closed for reconstruction work.
The RDA has resorted to data collated from remote sensing satellites of the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA). It has also sought help from historians and architects. Varun Bhamare, the conservation architect of the Raigad Development Authority, said that the excavation at the first site has resulted in the discovery of stone pieces and remains of bones, which have been sent to archaeology experts for the purpose of dating.
Chhatrapati further said that the Raigad Fort is the biggest fort spread over an area of 1,250 acre. He said, “that is the reason for the fort to be referred to as Gibraltar of the East. It had many structures as Shivaji Maharaj himself constructed it as the capital of his empire and architect Hirolji Indulkar built the structures keeping in mind the activities that were performed in those days.”
Chhatrapati said that while developing the Raigad Fort as a model fort, 21 villages that fall within its seven-kilometre-radius will also be developed. He added that a tender of Rs 7 crore for construction of roads inside these 21 villages has been already floated.
Bhamare said that Raigad Fort conservation and restoration will be done by using material from the local area and without disturbing the old structure.
FORT IMPROVEMENT UNDER NREGS
Minister for tourism Jaikumar Rawal informed that the state government will provide employment opportunities with regard to restoration of historic forts. He informed that various types of voluntary work undertaken by NGOs can be included under the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. He brought out a government resolution (GR) and handed it over to Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati during a one-day fort conference at the Raigad Fort on Monday.
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 "Raigad Fort")
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