PUPUTUPU: For Shivaji kin, fort upkeep comes first l Sambhajiraje plans agitation to press for preservation of monuments

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

For Shivaji kin, fort upkeep comes first l Sambhajiraje plans agitation to press for preservation of monuments

For Shivaji kin, fort upkeep comes first

l Sambhajiraje plans agitation to press for preservation of monuments

While the state government has announced its plan to set up a memorial of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the Arabian Sea, Yuvraj Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati, the descendant of the warrior king and scion of the royal family of Kolhapur, said it is more important to preserve forts in Maharashtra.
Sambhajiraje, a National Congress Party (NCP) leader, threatened to go on an agitation in June to emphasise his demand to conserve these forts, which have played a major role in the state’s martial history.
“To create a memorial for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the country’s business capital, along the lines of the Statue of Liberty in New York, is important. But it is more important that these forts are conserved,” said Sambhajiraje.
He added that the state government must allocate funds for this purpose and said that conservation of these forts was the “need of the hour.”
Sambhajiraje said it was necessary to preserve forts like Rajgad (the original capital during the time of Shivaji Maharaj), Raigad (that became his capital later and where he was coronated) and the sea fort of Sindhudurg (where a temple was built in his memory by his son Rajaram Maharaj).
He added that this would make people aware of the state’s history and about how the Maratha warrior king built his kingdom under adverse circumstances.
“In case the forts are not protected, they will be ruined within a few years. We will have to tell our children that these structures stood here once upon a time,” said Sambhajiraje, demanding that at least two forts - Raigad and Sindhudurg - be conserved.
Stating that he was planning to launch an agitation on the issue, Sambhajiraje, who unsuccessfully contested the 2009 Lok Sabha polls from the Kolhapur constituency as a NCP nominee against Independent MP Sadashivrao Mandlik, said he would announce his plans on June 6 - the day on which Shivaji Maharaj was coronated as “Chhatrapati.”