Maharashtra govt to initiate conservation of five forts, committees to monitor it

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government will initiate conservation of five forts in the state and special monitoring committees with avid mountaineers and fort lovers will be created to monitor it.
In a meeting with CM Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday, it was decided that five Shivaji-era forts will be picked in the first phase and the works will be directly monitored by the chief minister's office. Thackeray said that attempts should be made to take the locals into confidence and work in connection with them.
A tourist center should be set up in the villages at the foothills of the forts and the local biodiversity should be protected and even developed. To make it attractive for visitors, the historical context of the fort, the battles or key events that took place there, the wildlife, the forest resources, should be highlighted.
The tourist centre should have all the information that a visitor would want. Thackeray said that while doing all this, care should be taken to ensure that the archaeological importance of the fort is not affected.
A comprehensive plan will be prepared and also light and sound shows, developing ropeways in some of the forts should be considered.
"To fasten the process of conservation, CM suggested that all the forts in the state should be brought under one government department. He also suggested that seeds should be sown in the area surrounding the fort using helicopters to increase the greenery of the area," said an official.