Mira-Bhayandar: At a time when officials from the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums are busy conducting surveys and site inspections to pave way for the makeover of the historic Janjire Dharavi Fort and Narveer Chimaji Appa Memorial at Chowk village in Uttan near Bhayandar, encroachments and illegal activities continue to flourish in the surrounding areas.
Taking serious note of a complaint registered by a group of volunteers attached to the Janjire Dharavi Killa Jatan Samithi, the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) has directed the district collector, Thane to take appropriate action after verification and table the factual detailed action taken report at the earliest. The letter was issued by under-secretary (environment department) Sanjay Sandanshiv.
Illegal activities brazenly enter fort structure
Apart from structures in the form of a gazebo on the sea front which falls under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ), eateries serving or allowing liquor consumption are brazenly operating adjacent to the fort premises, the volunteers alleged. Notably, the Uttan coastal police had filed an offence under section 68 of the Maharashtra Prohibition Act, 1949 against one such eatery for allowing illegal consumption of liquor in their premises on July 31.
While the state tourism department has disbursed ₹10 crore out of the ₹25 crore for the makeover project, the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) has also made budgetary allocations of ₹3 crore in the current fiscal for the proper maintenance of the fort. Notably, the State Human Rights Commission had taken suo-moto cognizance of media reports about the prevailing illegalities due to irresponsible behaviour shown by visitors which led to unhygienic surroundings and leftovers including empty liquor bottles.
CCTV cameras installed around fort premises
A network of 18 CCTV cameras have now been installed in and around the fort premises. An able military commander who played an important role in liberating the western coast of India from Portuguese rule, the crowning brilliance of Chimaji Appa’s career was that he valiantly captured Vasai Fort in an intensely fought battle in 1739. To secure Vasai Fort from sea invasions and to launch attacks in times of war, Appa built a ‘burj’ (watch-tower), kissing the Arabian Sea.
