PLACES

KAMALGAD FORT

Kamalgad Fort (Wai T; 18° 05' N, 74° 00' E; RS. Wathar, 35 m. E;) 4511 feet above sea level, is situated about ten miles due west of Wai. The hill divides the head of the Krshna valley. To the north of it flows the Valki, and to the south the Krshna proper, the two streams meeting at its eastern base. The top of the hill is approached by unfrequented footpaths from Asganv to the east, from Vasole to the north, and from Partavdi to the south. The top of the hill consists of an area of only three or four acres quite flat and surrounded by a low scarp and can now be reached only by arduously scaling the scarp. Formerly the approach was by an artifical funnel or tunnel leading upwards from the base of the scarp and issuing on the top. This funnel is blocked by a large boulder which has fallen into it. There are no traces of any buildings on the top nor or any walls or gateway. There is only a hole which is said to be the remains of a deep well sunk right through the rocky layer constituting the scarp and penetrating to the soil below which seems still to be full of water. The hole is only eighteen to twenty feet deep though the well was thirty or forty. The sides of the well which were formed of the natural rock are said to have contained recesses in which criminals were placed to choose between starvation and throwing themselves down into the water. No traces of the recesses remain. No one lives on the hill, its sides are covered with thick scrub and water is found only at the base of the scarp. The lands belong to the village of Asganv. There are no Gadkaris in connection with the fort. To the west of the base of the scarp is a rude temple dedicated to Gorakhnath. The builder of the fort is unknown, but it is probably very old. In April 1818, Kamalgad surrendered after resistance to a British detachment under Major Thatcher.

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