Cuttack, May 26: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has finally started restoration of the massive moat around the Barabati Fort four years after the central government sanctioned Rs 17 crore for the project.

The Centre had sanctioned the funds under the Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns. The project aims to develop the fort site into a major tourist attraction.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik had laid the foundation stone of the project on August 31, 2010. But, the renovation and restoration of the moat was not completed.

An ASI official said the restoration was being undertaken after scrapping surface of the ground to expose the original wall and how dismantling has damaged it.

The restoration will strengthen the walls that surround the 104-acre site. It will also pave the way for boating facilities at the site to attract visitors.

The 2.5-km stretch of moat, surrounding the fort that was built during the Ganga period, used to be filled with water and was part of a defence mechanism. The fort was the seat of sovereign rulers who ruled the state for over five centuries. It was the headquarters of the Ganga dynasty (1112-1435), home to the Suryavamsi Gajapatis (1436-1540), the Bhois (1542-1560), and Mukundadev, the last Hindu ruler of the state (1560-1568).

ASI (Bhubaneswar circle) superintendent Ashok Kumar Patel told The Telegraph: "Work at the Barabati Fort started earlier this month. In the first phase, the moats on the western side will be renovated."

"A deadline of two years has been fixed for the completion of the project," Patel said.

The ASI has been undertaking conservation projects at the fort area since 1989. But for long, the moat has been a matter of concern over the protection of the structure, which has now been taken up for restoration.

As a part of an agreement, the ASI, as the custodian of the site, had allowed the civic body to clean the moat around it for introducing boating facilities and convert the adjoining vacant lands into parks with water fountains.

However, the ASI was supposed to renovate and restore the moat. The Cuttack Municipal Corporation had given Rs 1.5 crore from the funds to the ASI for the first phase of work.

"Once the moat on the western side is renovated, we will introduce the boating facilities," Cuttack Municipal Corporation commissioner Gyanaranjan Das said.