Madhya Pradesh drops hotel plan for Fatehgarh Fort

In view of the protest of medical professionals, the Project Clearance and Implementation Board of MP has put off the plan to convert Fatehgarh Fort, a historical monument, into a hotel through inviting private investments.

The plan was to convert Fatehgarh Fort of Bhopal, constructed in 1723, into a heritage hotel.

At present, Gandhi Medical College runs a guesthouse at the Fort. Hence, professors of medicine and students came forward to protest against the decision.

The plan to convert the fort into a heritage hotel was taken in a meeting of the Project Clearance and Implementation Board (PCIB), headed by the chief minister, under the new Heritage Tourism Policy.

"The tenders inviting bids from private partners were about to be floated," said a government official, adding, "the PCIB had given its nod to the project under new heritage tourism policy, but because of the difficulties in transferring the building from the medical education department to the tourism department, the PICB has decided to abandon the proposal."

The Gandhi Medical Teachers Association had strongly protested against the move. Earlier, while speaking to Business Standard, a state archaeological department official said, "The Fort will be restored, but no new construction will be allowed there."

Archaeology experts say the Centre and the state government are short of funds to invest in protecting historical monuments. The entire central region has just Rs 5 crore to maintain them.

Dost Mohammed Khan, founder ruler of Bhopal state (1709-1728), seized the Gond Kingdom of Madhya Pradesh and established his capital 10 km from modern Bhopal, at Jagdishpur, and named it Islamnagar.

He built a small fort and some palaces in Islamnagar, the ruins of which can be found today. After a few years, he built a bigger fort situated on the northern bank of the Upper Lake in Bhopal. He named this new fort Fatehgarh (the fort of victory).

The building was completed on September 10, 1723.

However, some historians have a different version about Fatehgarh Fort. A book written by a member of the Bhopal royal family on Begums (Queen) of Bhopal state says: "The first ruler of Bhopal Dost Mohammad Khan had built this fort after his wife Fateh Biwi during 1722-23." The book is written by Shaharyar M Khan, a direct descendent of the Royal family of Bhopal. He now lives in Pakistan.

Origin of the Fatehgarh Fort near the village of Bhopal was laid by Dost Mohammad Khan in 1722.