SUPPLY SNAPPED: Renovation of the Kangla Fort has come to a standstill due to non-availability of cement following the blockade in Manipur. — PHOTO: RITU RAJ KONWAR

IMPHAL: Restoration and construction work at the 600-year-old Kangla Fort by the Paris-based International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) was affected by the depleting cement stocks caused by the economic blockade in Manipur.

Superintendent of the State Archaeology Department Sapom Bheigya told The Hindu that work was on for developing the fort into a unique heritage park of the North-East.

The State Archaeology Department had requested the Manipur Police Housing Corporation (MPHC) to make arrangements for cement. But, the MPHC had expressed its inability to do so owing to the shortage, he said.

The first Manipuri King, Nongda Lairen Pakhangba, had entrusted MPHC with construction of a temple for Lord Pakhangba and of the fort's boundary wall.

Kangla Fort, the most important historic and archaeological site of Manipur, was handed over to the State Government by Assam Rifles on November 20, 2004, in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the aftermath of a protest by Manipuri people against the alleged rape and custodial killing of a 32-year-old woman, Thangjam Manorama, by jawans of the paramilitary force.

The fort was under the occupation of Assam Rifles ever since the British vacated it in 1947. The British occupied the fort in 1891 after conquering it in the Anglo-Manipur war. The State Archaeology Department had roped in ICOMOS for implementing the Kangla development project after the Archaeological Survey of India expressed its inability to take it up, Mr. Bheigya said.

The concept development plan for the Kangla project was prepared by Nalini Thakur, Professor of the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi.

It is aimed at preserving the State's heritage and restoring Kangla's pristine glory. The salient features of the project include development and beautification of historical ruins and sacred places inside Kangla, which is spread over 237.62 acres of land on the western bank of Imphal river.

According to the concept, development of Kangla Fort into the Kangla Fort Heritage Park will require about Rs. 15 crores. A sum of around Rs. 1.50 crores will be needed annually for its maintenance.

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