Kelve beach on the Western Railway is famous among Mumbaikars. Danda creek is 9 km from Kelve station on Western Railway and 1 km from Kelve village. Get off at Kelve station and reach Kelve village by rickshaw or S.T. buses. Danda Kot can be seen on the left-hand side after crossing the Dandacreek bridge on the way from Kelve Shitladevi temple to the market. Danda fort was built by the Portuguese to protect Danda creek. Currently, the Danda fort is being used as a toilet by the locals, so seeing the fort is a challenge. The Danda fort is surrounded by a huge tree near the bridge connecting Danda creek and Kelve village. From the remains, it seems to be the entrance to the fort here. The porch on the side of the entrance can be identified. ... Adjacent to the fort is a square-shaped well of Portuguese construction, bearing witness to Portuguese rule. Considering the available remnants of this fort, it must have been a warehouse. Its appearance has changed as the protective walls around it have collapsed. The fort must have been constructed to store goods coming by waterway in the Danda area. The fortress, forts, and other structures in the Danda area are built parallel to the creek. The special feature found in the construction of this fort is the rooms. The interior has a seating arrangement parallel to the wall and the other area has space for storing goods. People are confused about the names of the fort as there are Portuguese remains in two sections in the vicinity of Danda village. On the way from Kelava to Bhavanigad, after crossing the Danda creek bridge, the remnants of the left hand are of the Danda Kot and on the right hand are the remnants of Danda Kittal Kot scattered in the village. The fort was built by the Portuguese along with sixteen other forts in the area. Using all these small forts, watchtowers, and long-range cannons, the Portuguese established their empire on the sea lanes of North Konkan. The fort is small and can be seen within ten minutes. The warehouses and watchtowers, usually built by the Portuguese in the 16th century, were mainly used to supply the small and large forts from Datiware to Manor. After the conquest of Mahim fort in the Vasai campaign of 1739, on 10th January 1739, the Kelve fort and its area came under the control of the Marathas, and the Portuguese were wiped out from this area. People coming here with an expectation of visiting a fort are likely to be upset, but if you want to see the Portuguese watchtower on the ancient maritime trade route and its geographical importance, you must visit this place. The ancient reference to the region of Danda is 'Danda Ashadigan'.
© Suresh Nimbalkar