-- Samir Umarye
BICHOLIM JUNE 4: The Heritage Action group has strongly asked the Sanquelim Muncipal Council (SMC) to preserve and protect the Sanquelim fort and it's rich cultural heritage. The incharge of the heritage cell, Prajal Sakhardande through a letter written to the SMC has asked the chairman,Vijaykumar Verekar to preserve the historical monuments. He has also given a detailed plan to restore the fort which might get damaged due to the proposed market complex in the area. The letter has also given the historical importance of the fort after preliminary observation by the team including the conservation architect, Ketan Nachinolkar. As per the report by Nachinolkar the fort was build by Bhosle of Sawantwadi. The structure which is located in the midst of the busy Sanquelim market was later conquered by the Portuguese Marquis de Alorna in 1746 . It was regarded as an important defense post guarding the passage from the ghats to the coastal territories with cannons positioned in the fort. Untill 1817 the fort possessed a set of eight cannons. The fort apparently was abandoned towards the end of the 19th century and fell to a ruinous state. The structure shows a very strong character of fort architecture built of large blocks of the locally available laterite stones. The fort presently houses the offices of the PWD. The interior of the PWD office has a typical military architectural style. It also has a well and several barracks. Due to lack of proper maintence and restoration the fort has now fallen to ruins. Several structural cracks in the walls could be seen in the office of the PWD, encroachment by the shops has also blocked the gateway to the fort. To add to this the SMC has now proposed a new building of the Muncipal council within the fort premises. "We have asked the SMC to preserve the fort wall and the structure of the PWD office so that no damage is done to these sites" Sakhardande told Herald adding "the SMQ need to integrate the historical features into the proposed scheme to avoid isolation and neglect." "This is a rich historical evidence about Sanquelim and the proposed building should not over shadow the fort" Sakhardande stressed "the chairman has responded positively and has promised to preserve the heritage."
