After a long wait, the Centre has brought Navratangarh, a magnificent 900-year-old dilapidated nine-storey fort located in Jharkhand’s Gumla district under the fold of the Archeological Survey of India (ASI).
Situated 80 kms from Ranchi, the seat of Nagvanshi kings who ruled the Chota Nagpur region from the 1st century in Sisai block of the district has historic significance as the kings there had a link with Mughal emperor Jahangir.
An official from the country’s premier conservation Central agency said a notification to bring the monument under the ASI was issued recently. The ASI tag would ensure much-needed maintenance as well as conservation measures to the monument shrouded with mysteries.
Navratangarh is also referred to as ‘Doisagarh’ for its location in Doisa, the second capital of the Nagvanshi kings. Though it is visited in big numbers by tourists and historians, the heritage site has been in a dire straits.
According to Amitabha Gupta, a heritage enthusiast and blogger, the interiors of the palace are in a shambles and it is difficult to say how many rooms there were in each storey. “There is a ruined structure with a small hall flanked by two rooms adjacent to the palace. There is a gate in the middle of this structure which leads to the palace.
“The watch tower that was visible from a distance is now within reach. The upper storey of the two-storey tower was once accessed by a staircase.
Very little remains of it exist now and what does exist doesn’t exactly afford access to the top,” said Gupta in his blog.
The legend is that the King Durjay Sal after his release from Mughal captivity established this beautiful palace. He got inspired from the Mughal architecture and built a nine-storey fort from which this place got its name “Navratangarh”; of which only three storeys are left at present.
The Jharkhand Government had identified Navratangrah as one of the 27 selected heritage sites for conservation a few years ago. The ASI official admitted that this site has the potential to be a tourist place as a number of legends associated with this place need recognition.
