Restored at 3.5 crore, Reis Magos fort opens TNN | Jun 6, 2012, 02.47AM IST
PANAJI: The recently-restored majestic Reis Magos fort was opened as a cultural centre by chief minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday. Prominent citizens, bureaucrats and art lovers were among the over 250 people who were present on the occasion. Renovation work on the fort which had begun in 2008 was completed a few months ago at a cost of 3.5 crore. The restoration project was funded by the UK-based Helen Hamlyn Trust. The fort was built by Adil Shah as a smaller fort in 1497 and destroyed by the Portuguese in 1510. It was later rebuilt on a bigger scale in 1543 to keep the Dutch treat to the Portuguese colony of Goa at bay, said Gerard Da Cunha, the architect behind the restoration, in his address. Da Cunha said that the fort was turned into a jail in 1900 and a lot of freedom fighters—three of whom were present on the occasion—were incarcerated in it. After liberation, it lost importance and was left to slip into a dilapidated state. He credited the late Mario Miranda for being behind efforts to restore the fort and thanked Lady Hamlyn for her support. Parrikar, in his address, sought to remind the gathering that he had initiated an early effort to restore the fort in his first stint as chief minister. Parrikar said his late uncle was also jailed in the fort. "We as a society should remember the past," said Parrikar, adding that "if we don't, that society can't build defence for the future". Parrikar felt the fort would have to find a way to make itself commercially viable. "The government is good at building, not maintaining," Parrikar acknowledged, adding that the restoration was privately funded. He suggested hosting of "heritage marriages" at the fort as one solution. Parrikar also said "comunidade land (surrounding the fort) would be taken over by the government (to create a precinct area) and make the fort commercially viable for economic activity (to be) carried out without damaging the environment." Tourism minister Dilip Parulekar, chief secretary Sanjay Srivastava and Shobita Punja of the Helen Hamlyn Trust also spoke on the occasion. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Restored-at-3-5-crore-Reis-Magos-fort-opens/articleshow/13858603.cms
