More than a year after the erstwhile general body of the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) passed a resolution, the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has finally given its nod to hand over its guest house located near the historic Ghodbunder Fort in Kashimira to the civic body.
Tourism minister Mangal Prasad Lodha has directed the handover process. “The MBMC will pay over Rs2.5 crore to MTDC to acquire the guest house measuring 992 sqm,” said legislator Pratap Sarnaik, who has been following up on the issue for the past several months.
Heritage experts, architects to restore the fort
Civic chief Dilip Dhole said, “Heritage experts and architects have been roped in for the conservation of the fort, following which beautification work will begin. We have made the budgetary allocation to pay MTDC and complete the acquiring process.” He said a well-maintained accommodation facility would be an added attraction for tourists.
The fort has been adopted by the MBMC under the Maharashtra Vaibhav Protected Monuments Adoption Scheme introduced to help preserve historical monuments.
About the Fort
Originally named Cacabe de Tanna, the Ghodbunder Fort was built in 1730 by the Portuguese who had settled in the region in 1530. The territory and fort remained under the rule of the Portuguese until 1737.
Despite several attempts, the Maratha warriors failed to capture the fortress, but eventually besieged and successfully occupied it by defeating the Portuguese army in 1737.
Ideal Film Shoot Spot
Surrounded by towering hills on one side with a creek view on the other, the Ghodbunder village, fort and the tourist centre once used to be an ideal film shooting spot. Scenes of many movies like Nastik, Shakti, Samadhi, Nagin, Aaya Toofan, Jyoti, Amar Akbar Anthony, Paanch Qaidi, to name a few, were shot in this scenic location. “Even now, some crews of serials and web series occasionally come here for shootings.” said a villager.
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