Kerala - Kozhikode   

Steps to protect Tipu's fort

Staff Reporter

KOZHIKODE: Deputy Collector and District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) secretary T. Bhaskaran has initiated steps to prepare a project report to protect what is popularly considered `Tipu Sultan's Fort' at Feroke.

"We have enquired with the Archaeology Department which said that the fort has been declared a protected monument. But now the fort is under the possession of a private individual. If protected, it will be of immense historical significance. We are seeking the services of an architect. The report will be prepared soon and submitted to the Government," he said.

M.G.S. Narayanan, historian and the former chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), said that the site was meant for a fort by Tipu, but he could not make it a reality.

Only a well and a small building for storing magazine were constructed at the site. Tipu intended to make `Farookhabad' (town of victory), as he called Feroke, his capital when he conquered Malabar in 1788.

However, defeated by the British, Tipu handed over the entire Malabar to them. The site came under the possession of Basel Mission, which fell into the hands of Comtrust (Commonwealth Trust).

The site, referred to as `Kottakunnu' fell into the hands of a few private individuals in course of time.

Mr. Bhaskaran said that effort to convert `Kottapadam,' a 25-acre plot near the fort which contains water-holding structures formed as a result of digging for clay, into a tourist spot would be sought.

Another proposal for developing an island near Beypore was also under consideration of the DTPC, he said.

N.C. Abdul Rasaq, president of the Feroke grama panchayat, requested in a letter to Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan to preserve the site of the fort.

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