By Tejas

Pune, July 29, 2024: On Shivneri fort, a portion of a above cliff fell on the footpath of a fort on July 28. In this landslide incident, two individuals were saved narrowly as a crevice fell on their backside.

This incident took place between the Mahadarwaja and the Parvangi (permission) Gate. Many boulders and debris fell following the landslide incident. Many stones were scattered on the pavement. Notably, in this incident, a strong protective stone wall built by the Archaeology Department on the footpath of the fort has also been broken and crumbled by some felling boulders. Meanwhile, a temporary branch of the tree has been placed there for safety purposes.

Following the incident, the Pune district collector, Suhas Diwase, has ordered the fort to be closed until July 31. The Pune district collectorate office had earlier been ordered to close all the tourist places in the Pune district amidst the dangers of landslides and floods. However, a large number of people are still gathering in dangerous places, putting their lives at risk.

The Shivneri fort is the birthplace of the great Maratha Empire king, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. However, over the years, the government has not been giving adequate attention to the maintenance and repair of the forts.

When asked regarding this incident, Babasaheb Jangle, the assistant surveyor of the Central Archaeology Department, said, "The senior office has been informed about this landslide incident, and precautions will be taken to take appropriate measures by conducting a survey to see if there are any more dangerous spots on the fort."

"Both Lenyadri and Shivneri are hill tourist destinations. A month ago, stones fell on the footpath due to the movement of monkeys in the Lenyadri mountain range. At that time, we sent a letter to the Geological Survey of India regarding the survey of dangerous ridges. Now we are also requesting the survey of Shivneri," Jangle added.

He further assured that the security measures will be taken and that the proposals regarding it will be communicated to the senior office on this matter.

The western ghat area, specifically the Sahyadri range of Maharashtra, is prone to landslides. This risk is further elevated in the monsoon season. Last year, a dangerous landslide incident took place in the Irshalwadi area of Raigad district, where 27 people died. Similarly, 10 years ago, the entire 'Malin' village was buried under the early morning catastrophic landslide incident.