Sada Fort cleaned up by youths ask others to join the movement

A group of like-minded youth are on a mission to protect old forts and have cleaned up the 300-year-old Sada Fort located in Sada village situated in Chorla gram panchayat limits, 31-km away from Belagavi city.

They removed wild weeds, creepers, shrubs and small trees growing in and around it. The fort had been neglected and urgent attention was required and the movement undertaken by these youths is worth a praise.

Located amid serene surroundings, the village is blessed with greenery and waterfalls. The fort earlier belonged to Desai Sardar, a soldier in Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s army. Most youngsters here work in Goa, while their parents stay in the village and practice agriculture. According to the villagers, Chatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj and Rajaram Maharaj, sons of Chatrapati Shivaji, would visit this fort to keep a watch on surrounding areas.

While there are no actual records depicting the history of the fort, the villagers said that whatever is known about it has been passed down through the generations. Now, however, the fort walls are deteriorating due to negligence.

Satkaryottejak Mandal of Sada village and Durgaveer Pratishthan, a group of youths engaged in fort conservation, have started cleaning the fort up by restoring its walls, in the hope of making it a tourism hub.

They have been working on weekends for the past two weeks, and are hopeful of completing the work soon. Ravi Desai, a villager, said, “Our village once had about 700 houses and was prosperous during Shivaji Maharaj’s time. But today, only 20 homes remain here, and basic amenities like health care, electricity, etc, are not available. The fort has also been neglected. Saddened over this, we approached the Durgaveer Prathishthan to take up restoration work. We want the help of authorities or philanthropists to bring back the lost glory of our village,” Abhijeet Ashtekar from Durgaveer Pratishthan, said, “We have a group of about 40 people from Belagavi, Sankeshwar and Goa taking part in conservation activities. We had organized two drives last Saturday and Sunday, and will be organizing two more to complete the work.”

For details Contact: Ravi Desai 9764392822