Pune, 6th June 2025: Shaniwarwada has a great contribution to the medieval history of India, it has an important place in the history of the Peshwas. Therefore, lakhs of tourists from all over the country visit it every year.
We are trying to provide a richer experience to tourists with the help of modern technology, subject to the rules of the Archaeological Department. For this, discussions will be held with historians in Pune, said Union Tourism and Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Thursday.
Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat visited Shaniwarwada and inspected it. On this occasion, officials of the Archaeological Department and historians gave him information about Shaniwarwada. They also gave information about bringing the old structures in Shaniwarwada back into existence.
On this occasion, Shekhawat inaugurated a multilingual smart digital audio guide app and also planted trees. Rajya Sabha MP Prof. Dr. Medha Kulkarni, Director of the Archaeological Department Srilakshmi, Peshwa's descendant Pushkar Peshwa, Kiran Kalamdani, Uday Kulkarni, Pallavi Gokhale, historian Dr. Ganesh Raut, etc. were present.
Shekhawat said, "After Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's Hindavi Swarajya, the contribution of the Peshwas and Pune and its reputation are all over the country. This structure is a precious treasure of rich history. Medha Kulkarni had demanded that tourists should follow up and visit Shaniwarwada so that they can easily understand the history here and make tourism easier. Accordingly, I inspected it today. I have received some proposals regarding the development of Shaniwarwada."
"Shaniwarwada is a protected structure, but since the law of the Archaeological Department is strict, there are restrictions on making changes to this structure and building new constructions. Due to this, tourists face difficulties in creating facilities. Still, an effort will be made to find a way out of this", he added.
Medha Kulkarni said, "It is necessary to build a replica of Shaniwarwada to show tourists what it was like. For this, I am following up with the Union Minister and the Archaeological Department. Efforts will be made to build Ganpati Mahal at the original seven-storey Shaniwarwada."
In every Kasba assembly election, the campaign topics include making improvements to Shaniwarwada to restore its former glory and lifting the ban on construction within 100 meters. But today, when the Union Minister was visiting Shaniwarwada, the local BJP office bearers, the mayor and the MLAs were absent.
