New moat for Vellore fort, to be beautified at Rs 10 cr in 2 months

The move is said to be part of the Rs 33-crore beautification work presently under way in and around the fort under the Vellore Smart City Mission project. With the Rs 11-crore dredging of the moat nearly complete, officials said that efforts are on to make the historic facility attract more footfall by ensuring facilities on a par with those available at top historic sites in the country.

As a result, both sides of the road from the entrance of the fort to the Jalakanteswarar temple have been dug up to a depth of three metres after which it will be filled with rubble (jalli), with the footpath being laid over it.

Expected to be completed in two months, officials said the work would be on a par with that laid at Mahabalipuram in Chennai during the second informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping a few months ago.

Similarly, sand dredged from the moat and presently dumped on the fort grounds adjacent to Periyar park is expected to be cleared soon following which the entire area will be laid over with a lawn.

However, when Corporation officials suggested increasing the height of the compound wall to prevent miscreants entering and dirtying the premises, they claimed that “we were told to leave the compound wall untouched as otherwise any new wall built would not be in sync with the historic structure”.

Once dredging is completed, boating on the moat that stopped some years ago is expected to be revived for the benefit of local tourists.

Locals also suggested that breeding of inland fish be restarted as it had good response when started a few years ago by theFisheries department.