As we read the press release that reached our inbox from the state’s tourism department, a sense of deja vu took over. This time, it was the announcement of an MOU where the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had been roped in to give Maharashtra’s impressive line-up of forts a much-needed facelift. Back in 2012, a similar project was signed between the state’s forest department and ASI to protect our forts.

Sure, it’s an ambitious plan. And long overdue. Ask any trekker, historian and environmentalist worth their salt to give you the lowdown of the condition of some of the state’s oft-frequented forts. It will read like a litany of cribs and concerns. Since the time we first set foot into a fort — the magnificent Janjira — a sea fort that stood strong in the waters of the Arabian Sea off Alibaug — our visits to the state’s citadels haven’t left us with a smile. After reading about its impregnability in our history textbooks in school to actually walking around its ruins, Janjira, as we would discover with each visit, has been reduced to a convenient offsite location for film and TV shoots, commercials and whatnot. The word neglect is written all over with litter, graffiti and crumbling walls making it a decadent eyesore.