‘A state protected monument altered’: Why the revamp at 400-year-old Bandra fort has left citizens aghast

Situated at Land’s End, Bandra Fort (Castella de Aguada) was built by the Portuguese in 1640. While they had erected the castella (bastion) as an outpost marking the southernmost tip of the mainland, in recent years, it had increasingly come to serve the local fishermen.

Eager to preserve the protected monument, the state archeological department – in April 2024 – issued work orders for repairs, pegged at the cost of Rs 70 lakh. Meanwhile, pegged at a cost of Rs 16 crore, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) – under whose possession the nearby garden lies – launched beautification works on the garden, last year.

While the repair work on the fort is still underway, the garden beautification was completed and unveiled to the public last week.
Locals have complained that the repair work has led to altering the Fort’s original aesthetics.

“The departments should be restoring and preserving the structure. But what is the need to alter the original character of the fort? The height of the walls are being altered, and they have used lime and brick plastering, destroying the original black stone character of the fort.

We are shocked to see how it has changed post renovation and all this has happened without our consultation,” said Natasha Pereira, a local resident.

In pictures which have now taken the social media by storm, the walls of the fort appear restructured and painted a hue of cream colour, much to the dismay of residents.

For its part, the state archeological department maintains that lime plastering is a standard methodology to restore and improve the lifespan of forts.

Dr. Vilas Wahane, assistant director of state archaeological department, Ratnagiri said that the scope of work involved removal of the dead cement, which had been used for the first restoration in 2007. “The scope of work in the restoration involved the removal of the old cement and instead use the modern and standard methodology of lime plastering. Unlike cement, lime is very light, allowing the structure to breathe. The cream, beige colour, meanwhile, is owing to the use of surkhi (brick powder) and not paint. This was done to give the structure a historical look since the original white colour of lime would make the fort look like a modern building,” said Wahane.

Zoru Bathena, a city based activist, told The Indian Express that the residents are now writing to the state archeology department as well as BMC demanding that all further work at Bandra fort must be stalled and restored back to its original form. Alluding to the Maharashtra rulebook on archeological sites, which prohibits any act that damages a monument, the letter states that the ongoing works are in complete violation of the norms.

Shwetambar Shinde from Sankraman Design Studio, who have been roped in as conservation consultants on the project said, “The visible grey patch is nothing but cement plaster, which was used earlier to repair, not restore. Now, our project involves removing the incongruous items like the cement, steel items etc.”

“Besides lime plastering, the scope of work also involves restoring the original stone lintels back to its original location, which had been lying in the fort, to replace the steep, ensuring a more safe structure. We will also be carrying out raking of the steps and the work is underway,” she added.

According to Wahane, the deadline for completion of restoration works has been set at March 2025.