Maharashtra Forts For Sale - I : Korai Gadh

Had a chance to revisit Kori gadh (also called as 'Korai') in March 2009. The first visit was in 1997. (Fort was in pristine state at that time)

Fort Location

Ambavane village is approx. 80 mins to south of Lonavala by Bus.

Fort View

A flat top fort. Easy to climb.Around 1 hour from Amabavane to the top for beginner . Korigad is famous for its excellent fortification (‘Tatbandi’). There are two lakes and many cannons on the fort. Korai devi temple – the deity of the fort Korigad (4ft height). The surrounding forts of Tung, Tikona, Prabalgad, Matheran, Manikgad can be seen from the top.

Symptom Of Danger

Python of Amby valley/ Sahara City is tightening it's grip on the fort.- One can not make a circle around the fort. Most of south-east, south, southwest, and part of west has been captured by Ambi Valley.

The slope around the forts have been dug at many places. Sand and stones have been moved.

- Ambi Valley “Guards” will interrogate you on your way up to the fort. They will dare to ask you “where did you come from, how long do you plan to stay, how many people” etc
This particular guard even offered us to stay in the nearby 'Ambi Valley' resort that has been recently available !

While encrotching physical richness of Amby vally is quite evident, the temples on the forts are in bad shape. The forest deartment or tourism department did not have any presence around the fort.

Real Danger

I see this as an experiment. If the fort very near to population, and in the middle of two big cities, can be ‘swallowed’, it is easy for industrial and political pythons to ‘defeat’ the remote forts, and establish their imperial regime there.

I witness the forts representing great Maratha history are getting victimized in the face of industrial and political aggression. Korai seemed like a lion of jungle has just forced to join the circus.This is going in direction to obliterate the rich proud history. An irreconcilable damage the gospels of industrializations are doing to the History of Maharashtra.

The history is under indirect attack from new form of invaders, these are worse than Islamist invaders , much similar to modern Christian invaders.Christian Churches are gathering millions of dollars in the West saying they want to spread 'love of Jejus to poor people like Indian society'. In reality they are using these funds for brutal conversions of Hindu society. On similar lines, industrial pythons such as Ambi Valley wish to take 'fruits of modernization' to Indian society which they think is desperately seeking to modernize like the West..

This is treason.