State Directorate of Archaeology and Museums plans to cover 15 forts including Rajgad in this project slated to begin in the next financial year
To make the conservation and restoration of Maharashtra's crumbling forts a more efficient process, the state government has decided to use 3D mapping to assess their condition after the satellite technology was successfully used for the Sinhagad Fort near Pune.
The State Directorate of Archaeology and Museums now plans to cover 15 forts, including Rajgad, which was the first capital of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, in this project which is slated to be launched in the next financial year with the Maharashtra Remote Sensing Application Centre (MRSAC). These are also part of the first phase of the state government's fort conservation plan.
"This satellite mapping will deploy geo-informatics technologies like unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for a topographic survey, remote sensing, GIS and GPS. The terrestrial LIDAR technology will be used at important locations since it is expensive. It will help map the condition of these forts and enable their repairs and restoration," a senior official from the directorate told DNA.
"This is the first such experiment where remote sensing will be used for archaeology," noted Vilas Wahane, Assistant Director, Directorate of Archaeology and Museums. "We have received data for Sinhagad from MRSAC which will be useful for creating master plans, removing encroachments, gardening and landscaping and creating drawings for conservation," he added.
An official said that while states like Rajasthan were using LIDAR for such assessments of forts, Maharashtra would be the first to deploy a combination of technologies.
The official said the results of this exercise promise to fulfill a critical gap in conservation management — the lack of detailed mapping, surveys and condition assessments of the forts and heritage sites in Maharashtra.
Maharashtra has 353 forts including 49 protected by the state government and 51 by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
NEW TECH
- 'Condition mapping' reveals which part of the fort or its fortifications are weak, enables their strengthening, helps in conservation planning, removing encroachments, promotes tourism and enables gaming and virtual walk throughs based on the collected data.
- The other forts covered by the project are: Shirgaon (Konkan division), Kharda, Galna (Nashik division), Torna, Bhudargad (Pune division), Antur, Paranda, Dahur (Aurangabad division), Ausa, Kandhar, Mahur (Nanded division) and Nagardhan, Manikgad and Ambagad (Nagpur division).
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Trekker")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}