Fortified By Dole

JAISALMER fort is under siege. And not even reinforcements to the tune of $1,00,000 donated by American Express Company are likely to rescue it.

The fort is remarkable in the respect that it's Asia's only 'living fort', according to district collector Sudhansh Pant—372 households live within its ancient walls. Unfortunately, this unique factor is also the reason for the controversy it is at present engulfed in.

The fort is one of the 37 sites selected worldwide for funding by American Express under the World Monuments Watch. In July, it declared its contribution towards the Jaisalmer Conservative Initiative with INTACH as its implementing agency. While handing over the cheque, a company executive declared: "The Jaisalmer fort is in urgent need of conservation and the launch of this initiative comes not a day too early." However, questions have arisen about the propriety of the money being used exclusively to rebuild the delicately-latticed Rani ka Mahal, whose interiors collapsed in '91, since it comes under the Giridhar Smarak Trust, controlled by Maharawal Brijraj Singh, who is also the convenor of INTACH's Jaisalmer chapter.

Says a member of the two-year-old Jaisalmer Development Committee: "Locals feel that if Rani ka Mahal is prioritised, money should also be spent on the fort." According to Deendayal, one of the fort's inhabitants, two families lost members after roofs caved in a few years ago. This, he says, happened since they were denied permission to repair.

 Amita Beg, INTACH'S Delhi-based representative, sees no cause for local resentment: "No international  agency will donate money for a private trust. Rani ka Mahal belongs to the public, so does the trust." Today, while the mahal's delicate shell still stands, its disintegrated interior has become a cavern for thousands of bats. In 1991, its ancient wooden supports gave way and it took the army three days to cart away the rubble that blocked the roads. This site adjoins the Raja ka Mahal, also maintained by Maharawal's trust, which boasts of a carefully-conserved grandeur, in contrast to the rest of the fort.

The triangular citadel was built by Jaisal Bhati, supposedly the descendant of Lord Krishna, in 1156. As it lay on the trade route of western India, it thrived and soon reached a cultural high that found expression in exquisite architecture. With railways redesigning commercial routes, Jaisalmer floun-dered. Now, with the tourism boom, the city dreams of returning to its rich past. Fort residents have realised they're sitting on a gold mine and are desperate to quarry it.

Since they can't sell their property to outsiders, residents have leased it out to hoteliers—Jaisalmer has two lakh visitors annually, 35 per cent from Europe. As a result, ugly, multi-coloured umbrellas and plastic chairs on the roofs of the delicate havelis now mar the skyline. Some hoteliers have built toilets within their leased structures, in defiance of local laws. As a result, illegal connections and blocked drains have set off a noxious overflow on the cobble-stones.

 Raghuveer Singh, Maharawal's Man Friday, points out that the local government failed to follow up a drainage plan based on INTACH's suggestions. But a government representative counters this allegation: "Four outlets were planned. Two were ready. But the locals, when asked to take connections, refused. They want the government to bear the cost." Locals also grouse that cables for electricity and telephones are yet to be linked, despite completion of work. Others like Manoj Singh Baid, owner and lessee of Surya hotel, also an INTACH member, reasons that he is entitled to make changes that will protect his interests in the long run.

The district collector has been on a warpath with overzealous hoteliers, but there's little he can do about the commercial activity around the fort's periphery, despite laws forbidding construction within 100 metres. Plans are afoot to set up mohalla committees to educate locals that such desperate development will destroy their golden goose. Jaisalmer fort, a golden silhouette against Rajasthan's sandy wastes, has withstood the ravages of time.

But will it be able to withstand the assault from within?

Shameem Akthar in Jaisalmer