There is a small fort called Sangadi in Sakoli tehsil, east of Bhandara city. Even though Sakoli is a tehsil today, Sangadi was an important place in the tehsil till 1867 during the time of Nagpurkar Bhosale, and as this was an important place this fort which is like a fortress has been built. Sangadi aka Sahangad fort is 53 km from Bhandara city and 14 km from Sakoli tehsil. The fort is built on a small hill on the bank of a lake outside the village. We reach the fort directly by private vehicle. Although the gate of the fort is still in good condition, due to lack of maintenance, the fort has collapsed to a large extent and you can enter the fort through this collapsed rampart. This rectangular-shaped fort is spread over an area of one and a half-acre in the south and north. ... There is a 10 feet long tiger-faced cannon under this bastion and this cannon on the bastion must have been placed here in the later period. This cannon is worshiped as a goddess and an idol of Goddess Tofeshwari Devi has been erected in this bastion. This cannon is a special feature of this fort as it is the only cannon on the 5 forts in the Bhandara district. Steps have been built to reach the bastion and a new flag of India has been erected at the place where the cannon is placed. From this bastion located in the middle of the fort, the entire fort and the surrounding area can be seen. The lower part of the ramparts of the fort is built of stone and the upper part of it is built of bricks. The ramparts of the fort have collapsed to a large extent and the renovation work on the ramparts is still going on. Shivling and Nandi can be seen on one bastion while a tomb can be seen on the other bastion. The well inside the fort is covered with a large number of bushes as of now. The gate of the fort is still in good condition and steps are built on the inside of the gate to go to the area above the gate. Inside the door, there are porches for guards on both sides and one of them has a barn. There are no carvings or sculptures on the door. When you go out through the door, you can see a beautiful building in front of you. Only the roof of this building has been blown off although the doors and walls are still standing. This is where your visit to the fort ends. Half an hour is enough to see the fort.
© Suresh Nimbalkar