Residents oppose construction of resort and tree cutting at Sadashivagad fort
Karwar: The tourism department had proposed resort in the middle of the historic Sadashivagad fort, which is stoutly opposed by the residents of Sadashivagad (Chittakula) village in Karwar taluk.
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Village locals lodged a complaint against the Tourism, Forest and Jungle Lodge Resorts Ltd; for destroying trees and damaging the fort, which falls under the Archaeological Survey of India.
"The fort was built by Sadashivaraya of the Sonde kingdom and was completed by his son in the 16th century. It served as a protector for Coastal Karnataka, from the Portuguese attacking from Goa. Chhatrapati Shivaji visited the fort twice.
A historical Durga temple was built there about 400 years ago. It was listed as an important monument by the ASI. Despite all that, the tourism department cut down about 100 trees and drilled stones in the fort wall, without any permission from either ASI or the local authorities.
This act is unpardonable. We have lodged a complaint against the officials for damaging the historic fort and destroying trees," said Kishor Desai, advocate and activist.
President of Sanatana Seva Sangha, Vinayak Gaonkar said that the fort is built in a picturesque place at the confluence of River Kali and the Arabian Sea. "For generations, hundreds of tourists used to visit the place to watch the sunset at the Kali confluence. But now the tourism department set up a gate and restricted the entry of the common people a few months back. The area is of religious and historical importance, and destruction in the name of tourism cannot be tolerated," he said.
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Ashok Rane, an activist alleged that he and members of other organisations went to Chittakula police station to lodge a complaint against tourism officials. "Instead of accepting the complaint, the PSI threatened them not to file any complaint. If police can behave in this manner with officials, what will they do with common people? Police department should look into this," Rane said.
When contacted, forest officials washed their hands of the matter, and said they were not aware of any such tree cutting and that the department would look into it.
Tourism department official, on condition of anonymity, said that they did not violate any law and that the construction of the road in the fort and cutting of trees was as per law. JRL officials were not available to comment.
Meanwhile, local organisations submitted a memorandum to the district administration, and the additional DC assured action against the erring officials. Locals threatened to launch an agitation if the construction inside the fort is not stopped immediately.
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