Maharashtra: State-level panel on fort tourism on the anvil

PUNE: A state-level fort tourism committee, circuit treks and development of villages at the foothills of forts may soon become a reality.
Minister of tourism Aaditya Thackeray held a meeting with 40 trekkers and tour operators on February 4 to discuss the setting up of a state-level fort tourism committee that would look into trekking, particularly at forts.
Satish Marathe of the city-based trekking group Giridarshan was one of the participants at the meet. "The main agenda of the meeting was to discuss fort tourism. We also submitted a letter with all our suggestions," he said.
He said Maharashtra has 350 forts. "If we select even 200 forts from these and focus on developing four villages at the base, it will help the villagers financially. The government departments do not generally allow setting up of tent and camps at forts," he said.
"So, our suggestions included installation of facilities to set up camping and stay option at the base camp, among others," he added.
Marathe said information kiosks and camping facilities could be set up at the foothills of the fort and residents from base villages would be properly trained to guide tourists to the fort.
"Villagers will be rained so that they can be proper guides," Marathe said.
The villagers at the base camp would also be trained in rescue operations to shorten the emergency response time.
Another topic that was discussed at the meeting was establishing a fort tourism committee. "The committee will operate in a consulting capacity with different government departments. For instance, at some sites, forts are located in the jungle and come under the forest department's purview. In other cases, they are under the state archaeology department," he said.
Starting a circuit trek with around five forts over a four-day period was also part of the agenda.
"This circuit trek will include forts close to one another or those that are connected. For example, a circuit could be made for Rajgad, Torna, Sinhagad and Raigad, where you can go walking from Rajgad to Torna to Raigad," he said.
"It is important to set up such circuits to attract tourists and boost tourism," Marathe added.