Belapur Fort is a fort near the township of Belapur in

Navi Mumbai Navi Mumbai (), is a planned city situated on the west coast of the Indian subcontinent, located in the Konkan division of Maharashtra state, on the mainland of India. Navi Mumbai is part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The city is ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The fort was built by the

Siddi The Siddi (), also known as the Sheedi, Sidi, or Siddhi, or Habshi are an ethnic group inhabiting India and Pakistan. They are primarily descended from the Bantu peoples of the Zanj coast in Southeast Africa and Ethiopia, most whom arrived to ...

s of Janjira. It was later conquered by the Portuguese, and then Marathas. In the early 19th century, the fort was captured by the British. After the British gained supremacy in the region, with the expansion of the

Bombay Presidency The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...

, the strategic importance of the fort declined, and it fell into disuse.

History

Built in 1560–1570 by the Siddis, after they wrested control of the area from the Portuguese, it is located atop a hillock, near the mouth of the

Panvel Creek Panvel Creek is a creek near the city of Panvel, near Mumbai. The creek opens up into the Thane Creek. Dredging activity takes place in this creek. The Panvel #or Ulve) creek gets special mention in the Bombay Gazette records. The 7 km long ...

. In 1682, the fort was recaptured by the Portuguese, who had managed to annex the regions controlled by the Siddis, near Belapur (at that time known as Shabaz). In 1733, the

Maratha The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...

s, led by

Chimaji Appa Chimaji Balaji Bhat was born in a Chitpavan caste family in 1707 and died in 1740, commonly referred to as Appa or Bhau, was the son of Balaji Vishwanath, Balaji Vishwanath Bhat and the younger brother of Baji Rao I, Bajirao Peshwa of Maratha E ...

, wrested control of the fort from the Portuguese. He had made a vow that if it were to be successfully recaptured from the Portuguese, he would place a garland of beli leaves in a nearby Amruthaishwar temple, and after the victory the fort was christened as Belapur Fort. The Marathas ruled the area until 23 June 1817, when it was captured by Captain Charles Gray of the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

. The British partially destroyed the fort under their policy of razing any Maratha stronghold in the area. During its active days, the fort stationed four

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

each of 180 men, and 14 guns ranging from in weight. A tunnel is also supposed to exist, which many locals believe connects it to Gharapuri Island, the site of the

Elephanta Caves The Elephanta Caves are a collection of cave temples predominantly dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. They are on Elephanta Island, or ''Gharapuri'' (literally "the city of caves"), in Mumbai Harbour, east of Mumbai in the Indian state of Mahā ...

Restoration

The fort comes under the jurisdiction of

City and Industrial Development Corporation The City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) is an Indian city planning agency and richest government authority in India which is formed and controlled by the Government of Maharashtra. CIDCO was formed on 17 March 1970 ...

(CIDCO). It lies in a dilapidated state. Plans are underway to renovate the fort which is in danger of being lost to encroachments. Residents have used the

Right to Information Act The Right to Information (RTI) is an act of the Parliament of India which sets out the rules and procedures regarding citizens' right to information. It replaced the former Freedom of Information Act, 2002. Under the provisions of RTI Act, an ...

to save the fort from dumping and debris. A pond in the vicinity that supplies water to the area is also in danger of being choked. There is no renovation or restoration as per the given reference as of January 2018. and the fort (or the ruins) are in pathetic state.

References

{{Forts in India Archaeological sites in Maharashtra History of Mumbai 1560 in India Navi Mumbai

History

Restoration

See also

References