CUTTACK: A tunnel-like structure was discovered at Kathagada Sahi on Tuesday during digging of the road for a drainage and sewerage overhauling project.

The workers had dug a 12-ft deep trench to lay sewerage pipelines when they noticed the structure and informed senior officials about it.

A team of senior officers of Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which is funding the project, reviewed the situation. The CMC has stopped work at the site for the time being.

"Cuttack is over thousand year old city and there is every possibility that the structure may have historical importance. Leaving nothing to chance, work at the site has been stopped," said CMC commissioner Gyana Ranjan Das. "We will request the archaeology experts and ASI officials to visit the site and examine it. We will resume work only after getting clearance from them," added Das.

The historians have also claimed that authorities should not take any chance and examine the site properly as it may be a big discovery.

"Cuttack was the capital of rulers of the Ganga dynasty. The presence of Barabati Fort points to the fact that the city has huge historical value. The rulers may have dug the tunnel for some purpose," said reader in history at Ravenshaw University L K Mishra.

Experts claimed that its historical value can be easily assessed by examining the rock used in the structure.

As the news of the discoverey spread, locals gathered at the spot."The CMC should take immediate measures to unravel the truth. Like Sishupalgarh in Bhubaneswar, this could be a big discovery," said Gokulananda Das, a senior citizen residing at Kathagada Sahi.

Three years ago ancient idols were recovered during excavation at Gadakhai, the moat surrounding Barabati Fort.

