 |
PLACES
|
 |
SAMANGAD FORT
Samangad Fort (Gadhinglaj T.) an isolated oval-topped hill three and a half miles south of Gadhinglaj (16° 10' N; 74° 20' E), has greatest height of 2,600 feet above the sea and greatest breadth of 260 feet. The hill top is surrounded by an eight-feet high wall. Formerly it was well supplied with water from several rock-cut cisterns. For want of repairs for many years, the cisterns are not functioning at present (1957). In 1676, Samangad was thoroughly repaired by Sivaji. Though one of the smallest of Sivaji's forts, Samangad was one of the strongest. In 1844, injudicious changes introduced by the minister Daji Pandit, by bringing their lands under the mamlatdar, enraged the Samangad garrison or Gadkaris who rebelled and shut the gates of the fort. On the 13th of October,
1844 the fort was taken by British troops under General
Delamotte and dismantled. Since the disturbances of 1844 the
mamlatdar's head-quarters have been moved from Samangad to
Gadhinglaj. [Details of the 1844 disturbance are given above under History.] The fort is now in a dilapidated condition.
|
