Darbhanga Maharaj's grandson decides to restore glory of the fort

DARBHANGA: After a gap of 59 years, the Darbhanga Royal family has decided to restore the cultural value of the majestic Darbhanga Fort also known as 'second Lal Quila' and planned to unfurl the national flag on the occasion of the Republic Day on Tuesday.
Despite being an iconic tourist spot, not many people know that the Darbhanga fort has similar structure like that of Delhi's Red Fort due to which it is also called "second Lal Quila".The last ruler of Raj Darbhanga was Maharaja Bahadur Sir Kameshwar Singh. He died in 1962. His kin stayed abroad and paid little attention to the monumental fort.
Kumar Kapleswar Singh, grandson of the last Darbhanga king has now taken initiative to regain the glory of the fort. A flag hoisting function will be held on Tuesday on the occasion of 72nd Republic Day. The sprawling fort is managed by a trust named after the Darbhanga Maharaj. Not much attention has been paid all these years on its upkeep, and now the grandson of the Maharaj, who lives in Delhi, has taken up the task to revive the historic structure.
The flag will be hoisted on the top of the giant-size entrance gate of the main fort, around 75 feet above the ground. Singh said on Monday that special iron staircase has been erected and latest hydraulic equipment procured to reach the top of the entrance gate for unfurling the national tricolour on the Republic Day.
Darbhanga Fort was built in the early 20th century by Darbhanga King Sir Kameshwar Singh. It was once the stately abode of the Darbhanga Raj family. The fort symbolises the rich Mithila culture. It was built up using red bricks and the walls are 1 km long and 500 meters wide.