 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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