From the Roman era to British Raj in Arikamedu, here's some more British Raj! This time further down south closer to Cuddalore town.
There's a fort built there by British Raj called Fort St. David. This was not just any fort. This was the capital of the British India, from 1746 to 1752. But it was demolished by French. However it was again taken over by English again in 1785.
The building is in a pretty bad shape. It was locked and I had no clue who had the key. But that's not the worse part. Further ahead in the same road is a Tourist Banglow which is named Fort St. David. So today that building is called Fort St. David and this one is pretty much in ruins. The only thing that's gives the info that its a building of historical importance is a engraved marble at its entrance. But this is only the worse part, not the worst part!
A bit before this building, you cannot miss the brick building at the left among huge growths. That's the Capper Hills. It was named after Francis Capper, who was the captain in 1796. This was built as a jail to arrest Freedom fighters. Even Bharathiyar was imprisoned here.
Here's the worst part. This is just not accessible. Trees and creepers are totally all over the building, making it not only impossible to reach but also making it susceptible to water and moisture lodging and eventually weakening the building.
I seriously am disheartened. The silver beach which is hardly 2-3 km from here, is maintained commercially by the local govt. Why are these historically important places left to the mercy of the ravages of nature???? Is someone listening?????????
TO GET THERE:
From Pondicherry: 25 km on Cuddalore Road
From Cuddalore: 3 km on Beach Road
On ECR, at the main Cuddalore signal, a direction board would direct towards Silver Beach. After 3km on that road, a Y junction can be seen. Taking left on it would lead to the Silver Beach. Taking right on it would lead to our destination.
On Google Maps:
Capper Hills: http://goo.gl/maps/v5hVF
Fort St David: http://goo.gl/maps/ou99J
Dedicated to Venkat
so sad to see the condition of historic buildings and sites in India...
ReplyDeleteI read about this place long back in Hindu Metro Plus. Beautiful shots… but not feel good looking at its state.
ReplyDeleteinteresting post
ReplyDeleteInteresting place. Good to read about it. Hope it gets taken over by concerned authorities soon.
ReplyDeleteSad to know that such an important place is left to disintegrate.......
ReplyDeleteI just hope my post reaches the authorities and officials concerned soon before it becomes totally ruined! Thanks for your comments friends. Do try to pass of the info to any officials you may know!
ReplyDeleteHi, I have been to the fort and some back ground information i had read is that this fort is a private property still in the hands of the christian missionaries from vellore. Sriram N
DeleteWhile searching something about the history of Chennai city in the internet, I landed in this website. The artciles are really good, especially St.David fort and the temples of Pudukkottai.
ReplyDeleteAs you like travelling, you will like this book too - Around India in 80 trains.
My review about this book in Tamil can be read in https://puththakam.wordpress.com/2014/06/12/132-around-india-in-80-trains/
- J.S.Gnanasekar
As a Cuddalore common citizen .I proud of my hometown.but here the concern authorities have no Idea about developing the locality.that's why the historical places were turned into rubbish.No collecter have courtesy on repair historical monuments.if they repair it that place should be a very important tourist spot of Cuddalore.but speaking on this is waste of time no one is never repair it
ReplyDelete