The restoration work on Golghar is finally on track but movement of heavy vehicles on the road in front of the heritage granary is posing a structural threat to it.

Besides, garbage strewn on the Golghar premises, where people watch laser shows on the history of Patna (Pataliputra), has also become a menace. Staff crunch and lack of civic sense among visitors have been identified as the factors responsible for the garbage menace.

The restoration work on Golghar has picked up pace lately after sluggish progress over the past one-and-a-half years.

The State archaeological directorate officials have claimed that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has assured completion of the restoration works on the heritage granary within six months. The portion of outer walls, which have been restored till date, can be seen painted with sepia colour, the same colour with which it was painted originally.

The state archaeological directorate, which functions under the aegis of the art, culture and youth affairs department, is the custodian of Golghar but the work for its restoration was assigned to ASI in 2011 owing to its expertise in such works.

Atul Kumar Verma, director at the archaeology directorate said ASI's Patna circle has given a commitment to complete the restoration works within six months. "As of now, a majority of the northern side of Golghar has been restored. De-plastering work would soon start on the southern walls as well. The progress in work has been expedited lately and we expect it to be completed within the time frame," said Verma.

Golghar was built in 1776 under the supervision of British army captain John Garstin following the famine of 1770. The monumental structure has a foundation of 125m and height of 96ft. It has a storage capacity of 1,40,000 tonnes.

Restoration work on the heritage granary was necessitated after its 3.6m thick wall developed a vertical crack near the staircase in 2010. The granary had developed three major cracks from the gateway to the top. All the three cracks were sealed and re-plastered during the restoration works on the inner walls, which started in the year 2011 and was completed in 2013.

However, the restoration work on the outer wall was stalled by red tape. The work was put on hold for around 10 months in 2014 and the reason for it was attributed to unavailability of required equipment. However, sources claimed that the real issue was transfer of funds. The fund transfer issue again stalled the work for around nine months last year.

The state archaeological directorate would a letter to the Patna district administration to stop movement of heavy vehicles on the stretch of Ashok Rajpath in front of Golghar as the vibration caused by such vehicles can weaken the foundation of the heritage granary.

"Movement of heavy vehicles was stopped in front of Golghar around five years ago on the same grounds but the order remained only on paper after sometime. Considering the fact that Golghar is devoid of any pillar, the vibrations caused by heavy vehicles moving not even 100m away from it, is quite risky for its structure as it might weaken its foundation. We are going to write a letter to the district administration reminding them about the previous decision," said Verma.