Authorised food stalls at Sinhagad Fort nearing completion

The work is in the final phase and the stalls will soon be distributed among the 71 authorised beneficiaries through lottery, said forest officials

To streamline food business and prevent commercial encroachment on the popular Sinhagad Fort, the forest department will set up 70 food stalls under the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative. The work is in the final phase and the stalls will soon be distributed among the 71 authorised beneficiaries through lottery, said forest officials.

Later, the forest department decided to set up a food plaza for authorised stall holders, identified with the help of joint forest management committee for Sinhgad Fort area. (HT PHOTO)

Though many people from neighbouring villages had set up food stalls near the fort as livelihood means, flags were raised over encroachment, forcing the forest department to act against over 100 food stalls in 2021 following complaints from villagers and tourists. However, the action faced opposition from villagers, citing the reason of unemployment.

Later, the forest department decided to set up a food plaza for authorised stall holders, identified with the help of joint forest management committee for Sinhgad Fort area.

The newly built food plaza is expected to cater visitors by May this year.

Deepak Pawar, assistant conservator of forests, Pune forest division said, “The forest department with the help of gramsabha has identified 71 persons to run the stalls and 56 of 71 stalls has been set up. Each stall will be of 8 feet by 10 feet spread across 1.6 acre acquired from the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC). The project under the CSR plan will cost ₹2 crore. The department will charge rent for these stalls, but it is waived for this year.”