Jaisalmer : Jaisalmer On Tuesday, four big stones suddenly fell on the road from the wall of the 868-year-old Sonar Fort of Jaisalmer, which is included in the World Heritage list. Due to the fall of heavy stones, two laborers working there ran away to save their lives. Not only this, due to the fall of stones, along with the barricade, the BSNL pole also broke and fell on the road. People became scared due to this sudden accident. It was fortunate that no vehicle or person passed through the road during that time, otherwise a major accident could have occurred. On receiving information about the incident, the city Kotwali police team and the Archaeological Department team reached the spot. The city police team immediately closed the road from both sides and deployed policemen there. At the same time, the team of Archeology Department worked to remove other stones of the broken wall from Sonar Fort and keep them safe so that other stones also do not fall.
The wall has been broken before, people are angry
After the sudden accident, shopkeepers got scared and closed their shops. There is anger among the people regarding this incident. Shopkeepers say that this wall had collapsed during the rain on August 6. Since then the work of making it has not started yet. Due to this everyone is getting worried.
Work has not started even after 3 months
In fact, during the rainy season on August 6, a part of the wall on the Shiv Road side of Sonar Fort broke and fell on the road. There was no accident as there was not much activity on the road during the rain.
The administration had closed the road as a precautionary measure by placing barricades on both sides. After that, the road was opened a little and the movement of vehicles was started. But, even after 3 months had passed, the Archaeological Department did not start its repair work. On Tuesday, once again stones fell from the wall.
Tender could not be done
Devesh Singhal, Multi Task Supervisor (MTS) of the Archaeological Survey of India, said – The tender has not been made yet, hence the work has not started. On Tuesday, a road barricade was broken and two laborers were employed to repair it. But, suddenly due to the fall of 4 big stones from the Sonar Fort above, the workers ran away from the spot. A barricade and a BSNL pole were broken due to falling stones. We have informed the higher authorities. Efforts are being made to start the work if tender is awarded soon.
Route changed after closing the road
SI Sajjan Singh of City Kotwali Police said – After getting information about the accident, the Shiv Road route has been closed and diverted to another route as a precautionary measure, so that no other accident happens. Policemen have also been deployed at the spot, so that no person or vehicle passes through here.
Sonar Fort is 868 years old
Sonar Fort of Jaisalmer is one of the very few ‘Living Forts’ in the world. Some of the population of the old city still lives within the fort. Jaisalmer Fort is the second oldest fort in Rajasthan, which was built in 1156 AD by Rawal (ruler) Jaisal, after whom it is named. This fort was built here due to the ancient Silk Route leading from India to Pakistan. . The massive yellow sandstone walls of the fort are dark brown during the day, turning to honey-gold as the sun sets, hiding the fort in the yellow desert. For this reason it is also known as Golden Fort, Sonar Fort or Golden Fort. The fort is situated on the Trikuta Hill amidst the sandy expanse of the Thar Desert, hence it is also called Trikutagarh. Following the increasing population of Jaisalmer, settlements were formed outside the fort walls for the first time in the 17th century. But, despite this, the main settlement of Jaisalmer remained inside the fort.
Population of more than 4 thousand in the fort
The royal family and the common public have been living together inside the fort since its construction. There are 382 properties in Jaisalmer Fort, where more than 4 thousand people live. 33 percent of the property of the fort belongs to the royal family and 67 percent of the property belongs to the people living inside. This is the only fort in the country, where most of the property within the boundary walls of the fort belongs to the common people living there.
Demand for permission to get repairs done
There are 3 properties of the royal family, 17 Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and 10 vacant houses lying in the fort, which are in a dilapidated condition. These 10 houses belong to those people who left their houses many years ago and went to live in other cities. People are now demanding permission to get these properties repaired.
