 Imphal,
July 31: Manipur`s historic Kangla Fort is getting
back its glory and grandeur - its mythical dragon, spewing
fire, standing sentinel to its glorious history. The fort`s
pride was restored when the Assam Rifles vacated it after almost
five decades.
The Manipur government has made considerable progress in restoring
the fort in less than a year, after the Prime Minister handed the
`Meitei` seat of power to the people of the state. The
two dragon gates that were bombed by the British will also be restored
shortly. The twin flames coming out of the dragons symbolises and
signifies the legacy of the Meitei`s that was lost and regained
after great struggle.
`Soon the Kangla Fort will look exactly like the one that
stood here in 1891`, says Bheigya Singh, amid the deafening
sounds of chisels at work. The Govindajee temple, constructed by King Chandrakirti in 1869,
is being restored under the supervision of the Paris based Council
of Monument and Sites, while a 26-member construction workers group
from West Bengal is about to complete the southern wall.
The chief minister, Okram Ibobi Singh, is heading the Kangla Fort
Board, and is in charge of reconstruction and maintenance. Visitors are allowed into Kangla for a fee of Rs 2 per adult and
Rs 1 per child. The gate remains open between 3 am and 9 pm, except
on Wednesdays.
Nongda Lairen Pakhangba, the first Meitei king, is believed to
have had his coronation done in the Kangla Fort about 2000 years
ago. The British took over the fort in 1891, prior to that all Meitei
kings ruled Manipur from the Fort. |
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