FORTS FOR CONSERVATION
We have been working for more than fifteen years for the conservation of forts. We started with working on Rajgad fort in 2007 and we worked till 2012 after which the government took over the charge. We have been working on Rohida Fort since 2007, Tikona Fort since 2009, Dharmaveergad since 2012 and Tung Fort since 2013.
HOW DO WE WORK?
While working on various projects, we follow a defined approach. We have to tackle three key things for conservation work, an approval from government authorities, funds for the work and execution of the project.
We follow a simple process:
1) Create a formal project report of work to be done
2) Present the report to government authorities and request for permission
3) Raise funds thru public contributions to cover cost
4) Request native youth for physical labor and pay them as per pre decided terms (this is a form of job generation)
CONSERVATION WORKS
An ideal way to conserve the fort to achieve its originality. As we know this is challenging and practically not feasible, we try to do whatever is best suitable. We have made five main categories of conservation works as
Forts have a huge area in acres, in order to be attractive they first need to be clean first. It’s a continuous and never ending work, therefore we have come up with a unique solution. We have assigned ‘Gadpals’ for each fort. When there is a plan for cleaning activity, a group of volunteers join us and complete the task.
Cleaning activities: Cleaning is an important thing to maintain the life of our forts. We clean steps, fort structure, water tanks, burujs.
Cleaning the steps of ‘Pali Rajmarga’ of Rajgad Fort in 2010
Structures are an important part of our forts, it is one of the most important priorities. We have successfully completed many projects for conservation which includes reconstruction of the damaged structures, repair and maintenance of existing structures, cutting down the trees which are harmful for the structure, and so on.
Reconstruction Projects : Reconstruction projects require more time, more resources and more funding for completion. As an NGO it is always challenging to execute those projects and we have successfully completed many. Here is the highlight of few excavation projects:
Tikona Steps : This is one of a kind project completed by Shri Shivdurg Samvardhan, it was done in collaboration with ‘Gadbhatkanti Durgasamvardhan Sanstha, Vadgaon.’ Project cost around 10 lakhs which included construction of 42 steps for Tikona fort. It was completed in Feb-2019.
Pataleshwar Mandir Reconstruction : This was a project completed in Aug 2022 in collaboration with ‘Team Dharmaveergad’ an NGO working for the conservation of the fort. It cost around 2 Lakhs.
Trivial Maintenance: Cutting of trees dangerous to structure, maintenance of structure, coloring, etc. are the work to be done on a need basis. These tasks play an important role to ensure our forts are in a good condition.
Tree Plantation
Forts have a huge area and which certainly can be fruitfully utilized for tree plantation. We have been doing tree plantations on forts for 10 years. Tree plantation and making forts clean as well as green is one of our objectives.
Benefits of planting trees on forts are as follow:
1) Plants are the root of any natural ecosystem. To give a boost to that ecosystem and resurrect its plantation is necessary.
2) Birds, insects etc become attached to the place if plants are present. This helps increase population of plants as well as birds and insects and animals
3) The general use of plants is to provide shade to humans.
4) Plants make a place look green, better and contribute hugely to our biggest need OXYGEN
Tree plantation by Pune District Home Guard Team – Rohida, 2013.
Tree plantation at Tung Fort – 2016
Watering
Tree plantation is just 1% of the work, watering it for next 3 years is 99% of the job. It is a challenge to water a plant on ground level, imagine how much challenging it would be to maintain it at height. We take this challenge seriously and make our forts green.
Watering plants with the help of a group of students – Rhida, 2022.
We are fortunate to have forts made by our ancestors which are self-sufficient for water throughout the year. Without water available on the fort, it would have been impossible to imagine this mammoth work.
Initially we started feeding by buckets or cans and then slowly increased the use of technology to make it more easy and efficient. Use of Solar Panels to pump the water and drip irrigation on top of it make our work smooth.
Use of Solar Panels to Pump water for irrigation – Rohida
We feel proud to see the outcome of our efforts over the years, Dharmaveergad & Rohida Fort has been green and has more than 500 trees growing.
Clean and Green Dharmveergad
We have a lot of trekkers, tourists and guests visiting forts every year, it is a great thing to have someone to take care of them and guide them. We have assigned Gadpal for each fort, they are caretakers of the fort. They are usually local people and know better about fort and local area.
A group of tourists from Australia, Sweden and Norway visited Rohida fort – Mar 2016.
Welcome & Guide
As Gadpal is stationed on the fort, they help tourists to know more about the fort and they guide them for do’s and don’ts. When there is a special tourists group visiting the fort, along with our Gadpals, our team members joins for the support.
Spread Awareness
Forts are our pride and a great heritage, we must respect them and keep them clean. This is the need of time to make our tourists and trekkers aware of it. Our Gadpals are the flagbearer and do it with full commitment.
School & Guests Visits
Forts are the place to revisit the history and tribute to our great kings and warriors. Many schools, organizations and government officers grab an opportunity to visit the fort along with a group of students and a group of enthusiasts. We as an organization help them to achieve their motive and facilitate them in the best possible way.
An NGO Navkshitij Visits with Mentally Challenged – Dharmaveergad
A group of college students visit Rohida Fort
Joy of festivals makes our life meaningful. We believe that celebrating festivals and organizing events helps us as a society to be more connected to the forts and our heritage. We plan for the celebration of important events on forts and encourage people to be a part of it.
FESTIVALS
We celebrate festivals like Shivjayanti, Shivrajyabhishek, Deepotsav, Dasehara, Independence Day, Makar Sankranti, Hanuman Jayanti, Ram Navami, 26 January, Maharashtra divas 1 May etc. on forts.
In historic times, forts were like mini towns – populated with normal citizens of the province. They used to celebrate all kinds of festivals. So we are trying to celebrate them to keep the traditions alive and also that people will flock to the place to participate in the celebration.
Shivjayanti Celebration at Rohida Forts.
Deepostav at Dharmaveergad – 2022
EVENTS
Events are a part of activities to attract more people towards the history and importance of forts. We organize different events like Forts Exhibitions, Fort Runs, Rohida Mahotsav,etc.
Photo Exhibition Organized by Shri Shivdurg Samvardhan.
Rohida Mahotsav 2014
Tikona Fort Run – 2016