The wall near the main entrance of Rohideshwar Fort, 12 km south of Bhor city, collapsed late Thursday night.
The villagers, who got to know about the incident on Friday morning, said that no one was injured due to the collapse of the embankment and the footpath leading to the fort has been closed.
With the fortifications of some bastions on the fort having also developed cracks at many places, authorities have banned tourists on weekends.
As per the information given by the Pune district administration, occasional light rains and strong winds in Bhor taluka have caused the collapse of the stone-soil and limestone rampart built on the way to the fort. The Bazarwadi Gram Panchayat at the base of the fort has appealed to visitors to exercise caution during their trip to the ancient structure.
“Rohideshwar Fort, also known as Rohida Fort, is built 3,625 feet above sea level. From Bazarwadi village the fort can be reached in an hour via the climbing trek route. The north-facing main entrance has a strong Ganesha Door adorned with artwork. Due to the collapse of the bastion-like fortifications near the same entrance, the historical importance of the fort is likely to diminish,” said a forest officer on condition of anonymity.
Expressing disappointment that the state government’s conservation plan for historic places is only on paper, the fort lovers hope that the ancient structure be conserved by the archaeology department.
{{/usCountry}}Expressing disappointment that the state government’s conservation plan for historic places is only on paper, the fort lovers hope that the ancient structure be conserved by the archaeology department.
{{/usCountry}}“The government should provide funds for the conservation of popular Rohideshwar Fort. Gram Panchayat needs financial assistance to provide services to visitors,” said Sitabai Gurav, sarpanch, Bazarwadi village.