The Barabati Fort and water being pumped out of the mode surrounding the fort. Pictures by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, May 31: Nine months after it began renovating the moat surrounding Barabati Fort, the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) is far from completing the project.

The foundation stone for moat renovation and restoration project was laid by chief minister Naveen Patnaik on August 31 last year. The work was scheduled to be completed by March 31 as part of a central government-assisted Rs 10 crore integrated development plan for turning the fort area into a major tourist attraction.

However, less than 50 per cent of the work has been completed and there is very little chance that the work would be completed before the end of the year.

CMC had received Rs 7 crore assistance from the Centre for the project under Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT). The remaining funds were to follow after submission of the utilisation certificate. CMC officials said the difficulty in draining water out from the moat had proved to be a major stumbling block for faster excavation and silt removal.

“Local contractors, who had been assigned the work, lacked the required expertise to deal with the moat which was constructed as a defence line of the 900-year-old fort. Consequently, the pace of work was slowed down. The massive work involved had also taken every one by surprise,” said a CMC official who wished to remain anonymous.

The Rs 10crore integrated development plan included cleaning the moat around the fort and introducing boating facilities vis-à-vis converting of adjoining lands lying vacant on all sides of the fort area into mini parks with water fountains and a musical fountain on the southern side.

For clearing the water hyacinths that had grown in the moat, the civic body had deployed three excavators, six pumps and more than 80 workers through contractors.

But the natural replenishment of water in the moat encircling the 104-acre fort area, made pumping out all the water from the moat difficult.

Municipal commissioner R.N. Nanda, however, said a separate drainage channel from the moat was already under construction.

“The water drainage problem will be addressed after construction of the channel is completed and the moat on the southern side is linked to the main storm water channel that originates nearby,” the municipal commissioner told The Telegraph.

“We expect to get half way through by the end of June and complete the project by year end,” Nanda said.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which is developing a garden with avenue plantation inside the fort area, was to renovate and restore the stone wall of the moat. The ASI was expected to provide technical support to the civic body for excavation and removal of silt from the moat to make boating possible. CMC had given nearly Rs 2.5 crore to the ASI for the purpose.

“The remains of the Barabati Fort are more than mere monuments. Turning it into a major attraction for tourists would be the best possible way to disseminate its historical importance,” said Saumendra Mishra, a resident of nearby Tulsipur area.