PONDA: The part of the wall of the Shivaji fort at Farmagudi, Ponda collapsed with the heavy showers yesterday triggering sharp criticism from Shivpremis and locals who hit out at the government and the politicians for neglecting the historical monument.
It may be recalled that a part of the wall had collapsed two years ago and the government only paid lip service to the maintenance and repairs of the historical monument.
The intense rains which lashed the State including Ponda, was the cause behind the collapse of the wall collapse on Monday. A part of the fort’s wall adjacent to PES College had already come down. The lack of maintenance and neglect from the authorities has annoyed locals.
Although the fort is quite popular with the tourists, there are no basic facilities on the premises which causes inconvenience to the visitors. The locals also pointed out that all four MLAs from Ponda hold ministerial posts in the government and yet, the fort is barely given any attention.
“The fort comes under the jurisdiction of Bandora panchayat. We had earlier asked the Tourism Department to grant us permissions to maintain the fort and prayed for funds as well. However, the department has not given it any serious thought. The fort is also becoming a spot for youths, especially students, to kill their time and indulge in mischief. Many vehicles are seen parked in front of the fort prove to be a hurdle for the traffic,” said Bandora sarpanch Sukhanand Kurpaskar.
“The government celebrates Shiv Jayanti every year by spending lakhs of rupees and then no attention is paid to this historic monument for the rest of the year. The government should rather spend that money on resorting and beautifying the fort,” said a local Kamlakant Naik.
