Maharashtra government to restore forts in Mumbai

In the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, there are close to three dozen small, medium and big size forts

Once considered impregnable by military standards, a majority of the forts in Mumbai are in ruins.

In fact, in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, which also comprises parts of Mumbai’s adjoining coastal districts of Thane, Palghar and Raigad, there are close to three dozen small, medium and big size forts.

Mumbai city itself has around a dozen forts.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra has decided to restore six of the forts of Mumbai.

At a meeting presided over by state’s Cultural Affairs Minister Amit Deshmukh, it was decided to take half a dozen Mumbai forts for development.

These six forts are Sewri Fort, Worli Fort, Bandra Fort, Dharavi Fort, Mahim Fort and St George. “A development plan for the development of these forts must be prepared at the earliest,” Deshmukh said.

The meeting was also attended by Vilas Thorat, Deputy Secretary of Cultural Affairs department and Dr Tejas Garge, Director of Directorate of Archaeology and Museums.

The forts in the hustling-bustling commercial capital and its suburban areas withstood the ravages of time for centuries – but commercial development of land and neglect from authorities is threatening their existence.

Every fort or garrison has its own history and heritage. Some of these forts come under the jurisdiction of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) while some of them come under the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums of Maharashtra.

It may be mentioned, at the initiative of state Tourism and Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray, Mumbai’s Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal cleared a boardwalk-cum-cycle track from Mahim Fort to Bandra Fort - as part of the Mumbai seafront beautification initiative.

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