Thursday, May 31, 2007

Sion Fort

Of the several forts dotted around the city since the colonial days, the Sion fort is one of them.
Situated between the hustle and bustle of the city, this fort has been now getting the attention of the ASI, which has its office bang besides the fort.
Now, the fort has been kept clean, and a park called Jawaharlal Nehru Udyan, has been created around this fort.

The fort is dilapidated and a collection of broken stone steps, scattered walls and ruins, overrun by trees and ground cover.

The fort wall has a small room on top with wooden trussed ceiling of old tree trunks. A series of pathways lead to it.The fort offers a panoramic view overlooking the salt pans in the Thane creek and countless skyscrapers mushrooming in the area.


Vandals and jerks have ruined the fort walls, trying to carve out their and their lovers' names, thinking about immortalizing their names in history!!! Bastards!!



How to get there:

To get to the fort, get down at sion railway station and walk towards the eastern express highway and walk straight past it under the flyover. You'll come across the SSC board office, and just past it lies the park amidst which lie the ruins of the sion fort. Avoid going on weekends as the park is full of bhaiyyas and bhaiyyanis and couples cuddling around every nook and corner of the fort...A short trek from the garden leads u to the top of the fort.


History:

It was built by the British Governor of Bombay,Gerard Aungier, atop a conical hillock. The hillock is situated a few metres from the Sion railway station. Sion was the boundary between British-held Parel island and Portuguese held Salsette island. The castle marked the northeast boundary of their possession. The fort was built between 1669 and 1677.

Nearby forts include Rewa fort and Sewri fort.