Archive · 18 Aug 2026
Rescued Portuguese bastion in Mumbai now faces weed and decay
In a big city called Mumbai, there is a very old stone lookout called a bastion.
For many years, it was hidden under rubbish, weeds, and trees.
People who live nearby cleaned it up because it looked important.
A history expert helped them learn that it was built by the Portuguese about 400 years ago.
The bastion was used to watch the sea and protect the city from enemy ships.
Later, the British used it too and even made it stronger.
The old fort has special holes for guns and a place to store water.
Some grown-ups want the government to make it a protected monument.
But the paperwork is slow, and weeds are already growing back on the old fort.
Locals in Wadala cleaned up a hidden structure and, with the help of history enthusiasts, discovered it was a roughly 400-year-old Portuguese bastion.
The bastion, located along the Eastern Freeway overlooking Mahul creek, came to public attention in 2021.
Officials from the Maharashtra Directorate of Archeology confirmed it was a Portuguese-period bastion that was likely also used by the British.
The circular bastion features octagonal projections, gun holes, gun slits, and an unusual rectangular water storage structure.
A proposal to notify the bastion as a state-protected monument has not moved ahead, and the structure is now being devoured by weed and decay.
The bastion appears in maps dated 1812, 1843, and 1885, with evidence of Portuguese building and later British reworking.
- Who
- Local residents, history enthusiast Chandan Vichare, and Mayur Thakare of the Maharashtra Directorate of Archeology
- What
- A roughly 400-year-old Portuguese bastion in Wadala was rescued from debris, documented as a heritage structure, and now faces decay while awaiting monument status
- When
- The structure came to public attention in 2021; it was originally built during the 16th-17th century Portuguese period
- Where
- Wadala, Mumbai, along the Eastern Freeway overlooking Mahul creek
- Why
- The bastion served as a coastal defense structure guarding Mumbai, and stakeholders want it preserved and notified as a state-protected monument
- Age
- Around 400 years old (Portuguese period, 16th-17th century)
- Location
- Wadala, Mumbai, along the Eastern Freeway overlooking Mahul creek
- Construction
- Random-rubble masonry with lime-sand mortar
- Features
- Circular bastion with octagonal projections, gun holes, gun slits, and a rectangular water storage structure
- Historical name of Wadala
- Varella, under Mahim Kasba
- Later use
- Reworked and used by the British in the 17th-18th century, with stone veneers
- Maps
- Marked in maps dated 1812, 1843, and 1885
- Monument status
- Proposal for state-protected monument notification pending; the process takes about a year