Digging at historical fort stopped

BELAGAVI: The mines and geology department on Wednesday put a halt to digging by a National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) contractor at the historical Rajhansgad Fort after opposition by residents of Yallur village. The fort is 20km from Belagavi.
For the past few days, the contractor has been digging up the soil for use at the ongoing Khanapur-Goa highway work. Since the work was taking place at night, villagers suspected something amiss and opposed it. Following complaints, zilla parishad member Ramesh Goral brought it to the notice of the mines and geology department. Based on the complaint, senior officer of the department Praveen Kumar visited the spot and stopped the digging. Praveen Kumar said last week, the NHAI contractor deposited Rs 20 lakh with the department while seeking permission for digging for highway work. However, permission was yet to be given as the contractor hadn’t shown the place where the digging would take place.“After the matter came to my notice, I immediately asked the contractor to stop the digging work beneath the Rajhansgad Fort. Digging has been stopped,” he told TOI.

Chhatrapati Shivaji had used this fort to keep an eye on enemies as one can see Belagavi and many parts of Savadatti and Khanapur taluks from the hilltop. The hill fort is around 2,500ft above sea level. To make this spot a tourist destination, the government has developed infrastructure, including a road for vehicles to reach the hill top.