Birshah Atram, scion of the former Gond rulers of Chandagarh (present-day Chandrapur in Maharashtra), has requested Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to initiate measures for the protection of Gond monuments in erstwhile Adilabad district.
He said the monuments are in a shambles owing to lack of maintenance.
Mr. Atram, locally known as Gond Maharaja of Chandagarh, had visited the Shirpur fort in Sirpur (T) town of Kumram Bheem Asifabad district on May 8. He then wrote to the Chief Minister seeking protection of all historic forts and other monuments belonging to Gondwana kingdom, especially the Shirpur fort.
“I was taken aback to see that only the main entrance of Shirpur fort remains while the ramparts and buildings inside have been demolished and encroached upon. There is no presence of the archaeological department at the place,” he tells The Hindu .
The scion contends that Gond king Bhim Ballal Shah’s rise to power saw establishment of their first capital in Shirpur in south Gondwana in 870 CE to protect their territory after defeating the Yadava kings of Andhra in this area. The capital was then shifted to Ballalshah (present day Ballarpur) and later to Chandagarh.
“The Gond kings ruled from Asifabad, which includes Shirpur to Mahurgarh, and there are many minor forts which were constructed during that period,” says Sk. Mushir Ahmed, a teacher in Kinwat of Nanded district in Maharashtra who earned his doctorate for researching on the cultural and historical aspects of Gondwana and Gond kings.
“These monuments certainly need to be protected to protect identity of the Gonds,” he opines.
In addition to the Shirpur fort, there are few garhis in old Adilabad district whose remnants need protection. That includes the Gandhari khilla near Mancherial, the almost completely ruined garhi at Movvad in Kumram Bheem Asifabad, the one at Utnoor, which still has its stepwell intact, and the Wadoor garhi in Neredigonda mandal.
