ASI may ensure new look for old Madikeri fort, palace

People are hoping to see the historic palace of Madikeri get a renovation.

A team of officials from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) paid a visit to the fort on Thursday, as per the directions of the high court and inspected the condition of the palace and the old fort.

Protection for fort

Viroopakshaiah of Aluru Siddapura in Somwarpet taluk, had approached the high court and requested that the palace be protected. He had said that the government officials under the Zilla Panchayat had been functioning from the old palace for many years.

“There are also offices of two MLAs and MLCs of Kodagu. A request was made to the Archaeological Survey to take measures to preserve the palace. The government office buildings should be vacated first in order to take up the repair work. It was, therefore, inevitable to approach the court,” he told reporters.

Viroopakshaiah said that the district administration had promised to hand over the palace by October-end, to take up a temporary makeover.

“There is, however, no use of a temporary work. In order to inspect the present condition of the palace and the fort, the officials from the Archaeology and the Surveillance Department have visited the fort premises. They will eventually submit a report to the court on the matter,” he added.

History of the fort

The old fort dates back to the 17th century AD. It was built by King Mudduraja of Haleri dynasty. Tipu Sultan rebuilt the fort with stone and rechristened it as ‘Jaffarabad’. In 1790, Doddaveerarajendra acquired the fort, which then came under the British rule in 1834.

The palace, built by Lingaraja Wadiyar II in 1812, now houses government offices. Earlier, the deputy commissioner’s office too was housed in the same building. However, it was shifted to the present building four years ago. The offices of the Agriculture department, district library, court complex and Balamandira are on the Old Fort premises.

The palace is now in a deplorable condition. Various organisations have urged the government to renovate the historic structure. They have also demanded the construction a park on the fort premises, to install focus lights around the building, and to convert the palace into a museum.

Central funds

The officials said that if the entire palace is handed over to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the Central government will release funds.

ASI Superintendent Murtheeshwari and Engineers Ramesh and Chandrakanth carried out an inspection.