PONDA: The renovation work of the damaged fort at Farmagudi dedicated to the legendary Maratha King Shivaji may become a casualty of what appears to be a feud between two ministers.
The fort wall collapsed due to heavy rains on the eve of Ganesh festival. However, only two days ago the Art and Culture Minister Govind Gaude inspected the fort along with GSIDC officials and made a statement that GSIDC would reconstruct the collapsed wall and beautify the fort. “The fort will be ready for reopening by February 2019 on the eve of Shiv Jayanthi,” he had said.
It may be noted that Gaude had earlier played the role of Shivaji Maharaj on several occasions in dramas based on the king.
However, on Thursday PWD Minister Sudin Dhavlikar commented that the since the fort is located by the side of the National Highway and that a flyover would coming up at that junction, it would not be proper to rebuild the fort as announced by Gaude. “The renovation should be planned taking into consideration the flyover work,” he said.
Meanwhile, the PWD has undertaken repair work of collapsed portion of fort wall; several workers were seen engaged in repairing the fort wall.
