The two-day Kondapalli Fort Festival as part of which the restored and renovated historic fort was inaugurated, ended years of wait for the fort to be available in a good shape for visitors.
The fort’s Durbar hall transformed into a modern gallery now features augmented reality-enabled portraits of the rulers who owned the fort, idols from the 14th century and later, a replica of the fort and others for visitors to have a glimpse of the fort’s history.
Also, the swimming pool beside the fort’s courtyard, dancing hall (‘ranga mahal’) on the first floor and others were renovated while the rest of the fort, a large part, including walls and streets, was restored. Regular visitors and locals who made a visit during the festival on Monday felt that the fort lost its historic appearance after renovations and the other parts remained the same with no proper description boards and others. The most common observation by the visitors was hundreds of names etched on the walls of fort all over. Restoration works are still being undertaken in some parts.
Lack of info
Many visitors were left disappointed as they were stopped near Nova college from morning to afternoon in view of the Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s visit to the fort. The six-kilometre-long ghat road was closed to the public and only school buses arranged by the organisers ferried people.
The fort was thronged by students from local schools who were mobilised for the CM’s meeting. Lack of information about adventure sports confused the visitors. “We expected more. The arrangements could be better. Since this is the first time we understand the issues,” said a member of the Youth Hostels Association of India.
