Nandurbar, which once belonged to Khandesh, came into existence as an independent district after the partition of Khandesh. In this Nandurbar district, which is dominated by tribal, there were once not one or two but as many as 15 forts in the form of hill fort, ground fort and fortress. These forts are not mentioned anywhere except the 7 forts mentioned in the book “Maharashtratil Gadkille” by DurgMaharshi Pramod Mande. In today's modern age, information about these forts is not visible even on the internet. I have tried to present the information obtained on this website when our Durgbharari group made a study tour of all these forts. It has 13 forts out of which 1 is hill fort, 3 is ground fort, 2 is Nagarkot and the remaining 7 are fortress. The apathy of the locals is contributing to the decline of these forts. ... Even today, the Kondhwal fort, which is in perfect condition, is in a state of disrepair only due to neglect. Kondhwal fort is located at a distance of 18 km from Shahada in Shahada taluka in South Nandurbar area. To visit Kondwal fort, we first have to reach Nandurbar or Shahada. Nandurbar Kondwal is a distance of 55 km and can be reached via Prakash-Shahada-Kahatul-Jayanagar. This fort is located on the riverside road, outside the village and a settlement has formed around this fort. As the entire settlement uses this fort for defecation, a terrible stench has spread inside. It is terrible to see the fort with the thorny bushes and dirt underfoot. Spread over about half an acre, the fort has four big bastions at the four ends and the only entrance is on the north side. The height of the ramparts is 25-30 feet and the height of the bastions is more than that. The lower construction of the ramparts and bastions is made of stone and the upper construction is made of bricks. There are places in the bastion from where guns and cannons could be fired. The arch of the door in the rampart still remains but the door has disappeared. The ruins inside the fort are completely destroyed and overgrown with thorns. All the four bastions of the fort are two-storied. There is a deep well in the center of the fort and no other remains are visible. From the bastion in the fort, a long distance can be seen. Due to the stench, one cannot stay in the fort for a long time even if one wants to. Outside the fort there is a temple of Maruti in the east. Looking at the history of the fort, in the 13th century Solanki Sardar Sujan Singh Rawal attacked the Songiri fort and captured it. His descendant Kesari Singh's son Mohan Singh built Torkheda fortress and established his dominance over about 225 villages. It is recorded that this Mohansingh Rawal established Kondhaval village and built a strong ground fort in this village. For the locals, this fort is just a toilet and they cannot tell anything about its history. Since there is a queue for defecation in the fort in the morning, plan to visit the fort later in the day. If you have time to stay here, you can stay at the Bhaktiniwas of Heramb Ganesh Temple in Jayanagar, 3 km away from kondhwal.
© Suresh Nimbalkar