Two high tension towers in the moat and (below) an idol of Hanuman discovered from heaps of slush and mud. Pictures by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, June 10: The discovery of a lion statue and an idol of Hanuman over the past two days from heaps of slush and mud excavated from the Barabati Fort moat has caught public attention and triggered speculations of more antiquities lying buried in the moat.

Both the artefacts, which were spotted by labourers, are in the custody of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). “They are being scrutinised to ascertain how old they are. Preliminary examinations indicate that both were temple fragments and nearly 800 years old,” an ASI official said.

ASI had allowed Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) to undertake excavation and removal of silt from the moat as part an integrated development plan for turning the fort into a major tourist attraction with central assistance under Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT).

The Rs 10crore project included cleaning the moat around the fort, introducing boating facilities and converting vacant land on all sides of the fort area into mini parks with water fountains and a musical fountain on the southern side. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik had laid the foundation stone for the project on August 31, 2010.

Dispute hit the project over relocation of high tension electricity towers erected years ago on the moat for taking feeder lines to a nearby substation from the grid station at Bidanasi.

Neither the CMC nor the city electricity division claims responsibility to foot the bill for shifting the three 33KV line towers that sit in the middle of the moat on the western side obstructing renovation and restoration work.

Several other electric poles hinder clearing of weeds, excavation and removal of silt from the moat for making boating possible.

On June 8, municipal commissioner R.N. Nanda had written his fourth letter to the deputy general manager of city electricity distribution division No. 1 for shifting the towers and poles from the moat alleging “unauthorised construction in complete violation of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) norms”.

“Presence of such towers and poles obstruct the basic purpose of the renovation work and will seriously hamper implementation of the project work in future,” the municipal commissioner said.

He requested shifting of the towers and poles on a “war footing basis” for renovation work of the moat and other developmental work.

City electricity distribution division officials on the other hand said there was nothing they could do except providing the estimate for shifting the towers and poles.

“We have already clarified our position. The CMC has to provide alternative land and estimated funds for relocating them,” deputy general manager Manoj Das told The Telegraph today. “The relocation process will involve an expenditure of around Rs 2 crore. We have no funds to meet the expense,” Das said. The municipal commissioner, however, said: “There are no funds for shifting of utility service (towers and poles) under UIDSSMT (Heritage) Scheme”.

CMC had received Rs 7 crore central assistance for the project. The ASI, which was developing a garden with avenue plantation inside the fort area, is to renovate and restore the stone wall of the moat. CMC had passed on nearly Rs 2.5 crore to ASI for the purpose.

ASI officials said the high tension electricity towers were illegal structures as they had come up in protected area. “We will take all possible steps to see that they are shifted,” ASI’s superintending archaeologist A.K. Patel told The Telegraph.

Interestingly, though the Barabati Fort was declared protected in 1915, ASI had staked claim over it only in 1989 on the occasion of the millennium celebration of Cuttack city. Over 50 per cent of the nearly 100 acres declared protected inside the fort still remains encroached upon.

Armed with a high court order, the ASI had stepped up its efforts since 2005 to regain parts of the protected area, which remained under the possession of the state government.

As part of the process of retrieval of the protected area, the ASI had since taken over the Satyabrata Stadium land, which was under the possession of the department of sports and youth affairs.