Kangla Fort to be restructured: Art & Culture Dept
Source: Hueiyen News Service / Nomita Khongbantabam

Imphal, October 05 2015: State Art & Culture Department has commenced work on collection of photos, exploration and relook of certain aspects of the content in the holy book of Puya after some unsuitability has been detected by experts in the existing Kangla Fort.

Kangla, the ancient capital of Manipur kingdom, needs some reconstruction as experts have raised questions on the present Kangla gate, Hijagang, Pakhangba Shanglen, a temple dedicated to the supreme deity Pakhangba in the middle of the Kangla compound, Art & Culture Secretary K Radhakumar told Hueiyen Lanpao on Monday.

Kangla was the ancient capital of Manipur Kingdom.

Kangla Fort to be restructured: Art & Culture Dept

It is at the centre of Imphal.

Kangla was also the seat of royal power.

The issue has been put before an expert committee and all requisite steps are being taken up, Radhakumar informed.

A contentious issue had emerged regarding the Kangla Sha located inside the fort, he said.

The Kangla Sha is the State emblem.

It was believed that dragon statue of Kangla Sha was first erected by Chinese War captives.

It stood on either side of the steps leading up to the Uttra.

Giant statues of Kangla Sha built by Maharaja Chourajit in 1804 AD were destroyed by the Burmese after their invasion and occupation of Manipur for seven years.

It was Maharaja Nara Singh who reconstructed the pair of Kangla Sha again in 1884 AD.

After so many renovations and reconstructions, the latest pair of Kangla Sha were built by the Kangla Fort Board during 2006-07 .

Radhakumar said the British had also refurbished the Kangla and the Assam Rifles occupied it for years and hence there must be some changes in it for sure.

According to a report on Kangla "Concept and Development Plan" by Prof Nalini Thakur, it has been suggested that the Kangla should be reconstructed without destroying its originalities, Radhakumar said.

"If need be, we have to pull down any structure inside the Kangla and reconstruct it to preserve the uniqueness," the Art & Culture Secretary asserted.

For this purpose, the expert committee needs to relook at the content of the Puya in order that the verity can be found out, he said.

He added that the Kangla will be restructured by starting renovation work from the plants and trees grown inside it to make it a heritage site as well as a heritage park to attract tourists.