Kelve beach on the Western Railway is famous among Mumbaikars. The Danda bay is 9 km from Kelve station on Western Railway and 1 km from Kelve village. The Kelve / Danda Buruj can be seen right next to the cemetery before crossing the Dandakhadi bridge on the way from Kelve Shitladevi temple to the market. The bastion is a circular watchtower. As the name of this bastion is not known in history and it is in a dilapidated condition, it is known as Kelve, Danda Creek, or Kelve / Danda Buruj. Located in the middle of Danda Bay, the bastion is on the verge of extinction due to siltation in the creek. At present, the height of this bastion, which looks 8 to 10 feet high, should previously be around 20 to 25 feet. For the construction of this circular shaped bastion, rough stones, mud and shells have been used, while in the construction of the upper part, crushed stones have been used. ... Although there are no steps to climb, you can climb with the help of easy rock climbing techniques. The fort was built by the Portuguese to protect the Danda fort. It must have been used to monitor the bay's transport route and to intercept incoming boats with long-range artillery. The bastion was built by the Portuguese in the 16th century along with other forts in the area. Using all these small forts, bastions, and long-range cannons, the Portuguese established their empire on the sea lanes of North Konkan. The main use of these forts and bastions, built by the Portuguese, was to protect from small to large forts in the province of Datiware to Manor. After the conquest of Mahim fort in the Vasai campaign of 1739, on 10 January 1739, the Kelve fort area came under the control of the Marathas, and the Portuguese were wiped out from this area. Visitors to the fort are likely to flock here, but if you want to see the Portuguese bastion on the ancient maritime trade route and its geographical importance, you can visit this place. The bastion is so small that can be seen within ten minutes.
© Suresh Nimbalkar