To

Thiru C Joseph Vijay
The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
Fort St George
Chennai 600009

Dear Chief Minister

At the outset let me express my sincere congratulations on your being sworn in as CM of our state and I wish you the very best for a successful tenure. Madras Musings is a fortnightly dedicated to the built, natural and cultural heritage of our city. It was founded in 1991 by S Muthiah, the famed chronicler of Madras and since his passing in 2019, I have the honour to helm this magazine, which is supported as a public service by twenty-five corporate houses of the city.

It was with delight that I read of your having gone around the premises of Fort St George. I have not come across instances of your illustrious predecessors having done the same. I am sure you must have been delighted with the historic edifices like the Church of St Mary’s (oldest Anglican church east of the Suez Canal) and the Fort Museum which are neighbours to your own office, the core of which building goes back to the 1690s. These are all very well maintained and are no doubt symbols of our city’s heritage. However, let me also add here that there are 23 other historic structures inside the Fort, which are elaborated on in the book I enclose for your perusal. This book is a compilation of 24 articles on the fort that was serialised in our magazine in 2015, the year the fort completed 350 years.

Even during your tour of the fort premises I am sure you would have realised what a historic precinct it is. And yet, despite this, all is not well with the place. I take this opportunity to highlight the problems it faces and request your intervention at the earliest –

Multiplicity of ownership – Various pockets of the fort are with various authorities. The Assembly and Secretariat and the Namakkal Kavignar Maligai come under the control of the TN Assembly and Government. The ASI controls the Fort Museum, the Church, a few other buildings, the moat, and the gates. The Army has possession of the King’s Barracks and several other structures, and the Navy has ownership of a few others. None of these bodies coordinate with each other on maintenance, upkeep and preservation, and each does what they think is best, often at cross purposes. It is important that a Common Fort Authority is set up, with all these stakeholders as members, to preserve our heritage.

Signages at important locations – The Fort presently has no markers at most of the locations, except for the Museum and the Church. On any given day, you will see visitors wandering about, with no clue as to where to go and what to see Given the technology now in place, we need to have a proper visitor orientation aid.

Public Conveniences – Today, even those working in the Fort seem to prefer using the King’s Barracks, the buildings on St Thomas Street, the gates and the ruin of Wellesley’s House as urinals. It shows that there are very few public conveniences inside the fort. This needs to be corrected if the place is to merit as a location for tourists.

Strict Control on Litter – The fort today is unkempt in appearance. Tonnes of litter all around the places, historic structures put to unwarranted use, weeds choking the moat and the stench of stagnant water are all its highlights. And yet, even until the 1970s, this was not so. It is time that a strict code is brought into place, with systems for waste collection and disposal. Surely, our fort should be the place where such discipline needs to be implemented first.

Ease of Access – The fort can be tricky to access. What we need are much longer open hours – from dawn to dusk as is the policy with all ASI-controlled monuments of India. We also need to make entry much easier – it should not be subject to the whims of security at the gate.

I trust that among the various demands on your time, you will find time to reflect on this letter and take action. The fort ideally needs World Heritage status but unless the above are in place, that will remain a dream. I trust that the new beginning you have promised in the state will extend to the fort as well.

Yours sincerely

Sriram V
Deputy Editor,
Madras Musings