Behind this crumbling facade is a plethora of tourist-oriented businesses, from shops selling tacky bric-a-brac to dingy motels, that are money-spinners for the owners. And all this is taking its toll on the fort.

Its streets were never build for such heavy traffic, and its sewage system for the inundating inflow and its foundations were not meant to support extra rush. Consequently, many parts of the fort's walls and its foundation are crumbling.

The Jaisalmer Fort, built in 1156 AD, is one of the few forts in India with people living inside the fort walls. The fort is built with distinctive yellow bricks, without any cementing, that give it its unique golden hue. Of the 300 families living inside the fort today, most of them either own a shop, a restaurant or a motel, catering to the barrage of foreign tourists looking for desert exotica.INTACH has formed a cell to restore the Jaisalmer Fort and is working on removing it from the endangered list. "We had initiated a collaboration with Jeopardy Foundation, a UK-based NGO, for street revitalisation," explains Ms Bindu Manchanda of INTACH. Two streets, Dhunda Para and Kotli Para, were redone under this project.

The scope of the project included constructing toilets for the houses and connecting them to the sewer lines, and paving the streets.Following the successful completion of the restoration of these streets, INTACH also undertook restoration work in the Rani Ka Mahal, a beautifully done hall within the fort, still privately owned. In this hall, they now propose to open a children's library for the residents of the fort.It also holds street plays regularly to make the residents aware of the need to keep the fort in shape for their own good.

INTACH has now received funding of 1,000 to stabilise and restore the Her Raj Ji Ka Mahal. The World Monuments Fund has also promised an amount of Rs 2.5 million for the restoration and stabilisation of the bastion walls of the fort. "But it is still a long haul," says Ms Manchanda. She expects that continuous intervention and restoration work up to year 2003 may be necessary to pull the fort out of its endangered status.INTACH also has the support of local municipal authorities, the Jaisalmer collector and ASI to carry out the restoration work. And INTACH has its fingers crossed, hoping to restore the sheen to the golden fort.