QUEPEM: The utter neglect on the part of the State government for the past six decades in maintaining the Betul Fort has finally taken its toll on the iconic structure as its pathways and steps collapsed following heavy rains.
Expressing concerns that the entire structure could collapse, heritage and history lovers along with Betul residents said that for the past 10 years they have been urging the government to restore the iconic fort but their requests have fallen on deaf ears.
They said following heavy rains in the past few days the pathways and steps leading to the historic fort have collapsed. Besides, pits have formed near the protection wall, which has left the locals worried, who now fear that the very existence of the fort is under threat and could collapse any moment.
They claimed that the State government has been organising Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Rajyabhishek programmes at the fort for the last two years with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Minister of Archaeology Subhash Phal Desai making tall promises to restore the iconic structure but in vain.
History lover Yogesh Nagvekar said, “The government has been organising various programmes for the last two years. At these programmes, Chief Minister, MLAs and Archaeology Minister, former Deputy Chief Minister have been making tall promises to restore this iconic fort; however no steps have been taken in this direction.”
Nagvekar said, “If the government continues to neglect the fort and fails to restore it, then in future the entire fort may collapse. The historical structure, which was built during the Portuguese era by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in1670, is on the verge of collapsing any moment if not restored in time.”
A local Pandhari Kerkar said, “Betul Fort is famous across the globe as domestic as well foreign tourists visit the site. However, the prevailing situation paints a sorry picture of the iconic heritage structure. I urge the government to pay attention to this historic monument and get it restored urgently.”
Pradeep Naik and Anwar Sayyed also called upon the government to act immediately before it's too late.