The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has planned to revive the state’s fort history.
The tourism board will begin with Sewri Fort in Mumbai as its pilot project. MTDC has mooted a proposal to revive tourism and attract more tourists, at a cost of INR11 crore. Under the proposal, Sewri Fort wil be developed with a museum, mini-theatre, souvenir shop and an open deck restaurant.
“Tourists can take their own time, sip a cup of coffee and track the migratory bird from the comfort of an open deck restaurant which will be constructed outside the fortification wall,” said Dr. Jagdish Patil, managing director of MTDC. The success of the project could be replicated to all other forts which are not by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) or the state directorate. The state has a total of 350 forts, of which 19 have been notified by the ASI and 50 by the state directorate. “Many of the forts across the state are in poor condition and have been encroached on, and many remain inaccessible or unknown to public. We just want to bring this rich heritage to the public through the fort circuit,” said Dr. Patil.
Apart from Sewri Fort, MTDC plans to adopt Worli and Bandra Forts to attract more tourists. A high level meeting of officials of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), BMC, MTDC, etc was held last month and a joint survey is expected to be completed
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