Any adventure-seeking traveller who visits Puducherry will not miss a board indicating the detour to the Alamparai Fort situated on East Coast Road.
Following the signboard at Kadapakkam takes the visitors to the fort-cum-port, which is a popular spot among domestic and foreign tourists besides week-end travellers from Chennai and Bangalore.
However, apart from that sole signboard on the highway, there are no other indicators and one has to keep asking the locals for the direction to reach the fort. The ruined fort stands near the Buckingham Canal and within touching distance of the Bay of Bengal. The massive structure is flanked by fishing villages.
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The fort was gifted to the French for the services rendered by famous commander Dupleix to Subedar Muzarfarzang.
When the British defeated the French, the fort was captured and partly destroyed in 1790. The remains of the ruined portion of this historic structure have withstood the ravages of time and neglect.
Lack of maintenance has taken its toll on the structure and parts of it are now in a dilapidated state. Growth of wild bushes can be seen around it.
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A.R. Chockalingam, president of the fishermen village, said, “People from Chennai and Bangalore come here during weekends. Good crowd can be seen here also during festivals such as Pongal.”
Despite being a tourist attraction, there are no facilities such as toilets, said S. Arumugam, a villager.
Villagers complained that neglect by the authorities and the absence of security guards has made the site a haven for anti-social elements.
S. Sathishkumar, a villager, said, “We have sent several representations to improve the place and bring it up on a par with other tourist spots such as Mamallapuram and Muttukadu, but in vain. Adequate security has not been provided here. A lone guard, who stood here earlier, can no longer be seen. Even tourists and travel operators face difficulty in learning about the importance of the structure as there are no information boards. They feel that if the fort is maintained well, it has the potential to draw tourists from across the globe.”
S. Kevin, a travel operator, said European tourists were impressed by the sheer size and beauty of the fort and the adjoining lagoon. “What is interesting is that the structure has holes through which cannons were once mounted.”
Villagers take out tourists on their boats for a short ride, which, however, is an unauthorised activity. They also collect money from the visitors as parking charges.