PANAJI: Verem’s iconic Reis Magos fort is getting a timely pre-monsoon facelift. The state archaeology department has undertaken the task of repairing and beautifying the centuries-old monument and aim to complete the work before the onset of the rainy season.A heritage property, the fort attracts a significant number of tourists. It is also a cultural centre and a popular destination wedding venue.“We are keeping the structure in shape to prevent any further damage,” a department official told TOI.Conservation architect Ketak Nachinolkar, who is looking after the maintenance works at the heritage monument said that owing to the state’s climatic conditions, some or the other deterioration is bound to happen to the structure. “Broken tiles, rusted pipes and general wear and tear are some of the issues being tended to at the fort. In some places, the joints have opened up while in some places, the stones are loose. We are making efforts to repair all these before the monsoon commences,” he said.First devised as an armed outpost by Adil Shah of Bijapur in 1493, the Portuguese later built a fort at the site, which served as a strategic quarter for viceroys and other dignitaries arriving from Lisbon to rest after a weary journey.Till 1993, the fort served as a prison, after which it was abandoned. In 2010, it received a new lease of life through a Rs 3.5 crore worth restoration project funded by the UK-based Helen Hamlyn Trust. The archives and archaeology department pursued the fort as a prototype of a self-sustaining model for reuse of heritage structures.

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