Casual observations when traveling reveal many local stories.
When I parked the car at the foot of the bastion of the Jaisalmer Golden Fort, I observed 2 types of paving blocks.
One on the left was coarse with gaps in it.
On the right, I could see newer, polished blocks fitting perfectly without gaps.
The parking operator said that those were new pavement blocks and that the old ones collapsed.
Given the fort is 800 years old this was natural to happen.
Then I thought - why only now?
Further, gup-shup with fort residents revealed that the blocks disintegrated because water from the fort eroded it in the past 2 years alone.
This was a grave threat to this medieval-era fort due to human activity.
For centuries, all the rainwater from the fort and also from the residences and businesses flow in open channels .
At a few places, they were covered with loose tiles to ease walking.
But 2 years ago, the Jaisalmer municipal corporation decided to build an underground drainage system and close off all open channels.
Due to shoddy civil work, water started seeping internally and found its way out from the bastions and the base of the fort.
This led to damage to the centuries-old blocks that held the basement together.
They were replaced with new blocks.
“But due to unnecessary modern intervention the damage is now done to this UNESCO World Heritage site.” lamented a sad and angry fort resident who had many more local stories to narrate.
I will share those in the next post.
Where to Stay
I stayed in the Sagar Guest House inside the Jaisalmer Fort.
This place also has a rooftop restaurant with an amazing view of the city, the palace, and the desert.
Other Attractions in Jaisalmer
