***Jaisalmer Fort has withstood invaders since the 12th Century, but it may not survive an ongoing friendly invasion — by tourists. Gemini News Service reports on how the people living inside the walled city are altering the fort to cash in on the tourism boom.***

HE honey-coloured Jaisalmer fort looks ii like a fairy-tale king-

T ‘dom from a distance.

T standing alone amid

y hundreds of kilometres

5 of flat desert overlaid

■ with low acacia scrub.

By the light of the setting sun. the subdued yellow sandstone buildings emit the lustrous glow that gives Jaisalmer its name of the Golden City.

The walled city — 650 km west of Delhi in the heart of the Thar Desert — is virtually a museum, containing ancient palaces and old Jain temples within a winding maze of narrow cobbled alleys. The streets are full of Rajput men in their bright turbans and women is loose-fitting bright scarves and skirts complemented by narrow, patterned waistcoats.

Like the fort, all the houses inside are made of soft yellow sandstone. The delicately sculpted flat-roofed merchant houses or havelis are famed for their latticework and floral designs. Their facades are replete with sculpted filigree windows, delicate pavilions and

beautifully intricate trellis-work balconies called Jharokas.

AU this makes Jaisalmer a major tourist destination in Rajasthan, one of India's most visited states. Over 200,000 tourists — mainly westerners — descend on the desert city every year, almost four times Jaisalmer s estimated population.

But the walled city is becoming a victim of its popularity.

The Archeological Survey of India (ASI), which controls the fort, stipulates that no construction is allowed within 100 metres of its walls and that the architectural style of structures within the walled city cannot be altered.

That policy is being observed more in defiance than in observance. To cash in on the tourist boom, many of the haveli owners are converting their homes into hotels, installing modern facilities, altering the age-old" design. Jharokas are .being replaced with ugly iron grills. Billboards, iron grills and newly built modern facades dot the walled city.

"No landlord bothers about rules here," says teacher Mukul Sharma. "They pull down interiors of their houses and rebuild them as they like."

The erstwhile ruling family has converted its palace inside the walled city into a luxury hotel. Locals allege that the family has been selling portions of the fort to be altered for commercial use.

Even the 842-year-old fort's huge walls, which have protected the people living inside, are now themselves in need of protection.

The fort s drainage system cannot cope with the 35,000 gallons of water flowing through it each day. Water is collecting in the system and seeping into the stone walls. The damage is clearly visible at several places where stone slabs have eroded, making parts of the fort's structure unsafe.

Much of the damage could have been avoided if the civic authorities had fined owners who have not installed sewer lines. Instead, one-third of the households within the walled city have not bothered to spend the money on installing sewer lines.

Last year, on 17 October, an eightmetre portion of the wall collapsed, killing six. Observers say they will not be surprised if another portion collapses in the future.

When the walled city was built, few people lived inside and water was M aree, so the drainage system worked well But all this chaiiged after India and Pakistan went to war in 1965 and 1971.

Jaisalmer’s location close to the border gave it strategic importance to the Defence Ministry. UN observers and oil explorers followed. In 1968, the city was connected to the national rail network.

After India exploded a nuclear device in 1974 at Pokhran, 100 kilometres away, the journalists arrived in Jaisalmer. Some wrote about the majestic fort amid the barrenness and tour operators noticed its potential.

Ground water reserves were discovered and the Rajasthan Canal was built, assuring a regular tap water supply to the citizens.

Today, in addition to the tourists, the city gets a large number of visitors involved in gas exploration and construction, as cement factories and a new stadium are built.

It remains to be seen what long-term impact this development in Jaisalmer will have on the walled city. — GEMINI NEWS