It was a heritage walk with a difference to recall the historical significance of Sankari Fort and create awareness among the people to protect such monuments that were in the verge of destruction.
Organised by Salem Historical Society and Tamil Nadu Heritage Volunteers of Salem District, members and the public began the walk from the foothills of the fort that was built by Vijayanagar Empire in the 15th century.
The fort, located in the heart of the town, has 11 entrances and only one side of the hill is climbable while the other sides are too steep to climb. After the war in 1689, the fort was under the control of Wodeyars of Mysore and later under the control of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan till 1792.
The fort served as a treasury for these kings as tax collected from Kongu Region that comprises seven districts were stored here and later transported to Mysore.
Later, the fort was controlled by the British who used it as a watch tower to monitor the movement of troops. Also, British soldiers were trained in the foothills of the fort who fought the Mysore War.
Weapons and arms were also stored in the hilltop and are heavily guarded by the soldiers. After 1822, the fort lost its military glory and thereafter it remained a deserted place.
It was in Sankari where freedom fighter Dheeran Chinnamalai intercepted a British vehicle carrying tax money from Dharapuram to Mysore and took away the money and distributed it to the people.
The British hanged him to death at the fort on July 31, 1805 when he was 49. The fort houses Amman Temple, Varadaraja Perumal temple, Hanuman temple, Chennakesavan temple, Kamachi Amman temple and a Darga, which were built during various periods.
Historian Amudhan explained the significance of the fort to the participants and visited the entire fort premises. J. Barnabas, general secretary of the society told The Hindu that sculptures and artefacts were vandalized by miscreants and the monument continue to face threat.
He wanted the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) that maintains the fort, to take steps to preserve the monument and ensure that the history is remembered.
