Ludhiana, October 5: IN THIS business capital of the state, land sells on premium, and encroachers leave no chance to grab unattended patches of land. Even the heritage sites are not spared. As a result, the Old Fort is also falling prey to encroachments.

The entire area in and around the fort has been encroached upon. The settlement around it has been there for years, but thanks to the lack of attention by the district administration as well as the state government, the area inside the fort has also become more or less habitated.

The digging work done to raise residential structures right next to the high walls of the fort is making its foundation weak. As a result, walls are giving way. At other places, illegal structures are forcing their way into the fort.

As per historical facts, the entire the fort is spread on around 22 acres — 6 acres inside and 16 acres outside.

One side of this huge fort can be seen from the main GT Road while the other side opens up in the Daresi area. The fort was built by the Lodhi rulers (1471-1526 AD) and the area was called Mir Hota at that time. Later, the fort was used by the British as their garrison, while the PPA Phillaur Fort was used by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Hence, the fort reflects Muhgal as well as British architecture.

What remains of the fort today is a part of the boundary wall, two entrance doors, the mouth of a tunnel and a structure which could have been the armoury.

When asked to comment what does the district administration plan to preserve this historical structure, Deputy Commissioner Ashok Gupta’s said: “I have nothing to do with this. The state has an huge archaeology department and they should look after this fort. If they need my help, I will extend it.”

Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Jagmohan Singh Kang tried to play a political card. “I know the previous regime did not even bother to look at these kind of structures, but we are very serious about preserving our heritage. From wherever we get reports we take action. We are getting the Gobindgarh fort in Amritsar vacated and in Ludhiana too we will take action. But all this takes time,” he said.