Puri: The Amicus Curiae, appointed by the Orissa High Court, had raised doubts about the efficacy of the repair works at Srimandir and the system adopted to study the cracked beams on the roof of the Natamandapa of the 12th century shrine.
Amicus Curiae N K Mohanty raised the objection when ASI submitted a testimony declaring that it has been assessing the distressed stone beams on the roof of the Natamandapa through ‘Structural Health Monitoring System’ as per the recommendation of IIT Madras.
Mohanty alleged that the Structural Health Monitoring System being adopted to study the beams on the roof inside Natamandapa is ‘defective’ and sought time to ‘verify his declare’.
“Taking due cognizance of the fact, the bench of Chief Justice K S Jhaveri and Justice K R Mohapatra posted the case to April 8 for hearing.
The court has been tracking the repair works of Natamandapa after Mohanty submitted a report pointing out that the roof above the Garuda Stamba needs immediate attention.
In his affidavit, ASI (Bhubaneswar circle) superintending archaeologist Arun Malik on Monday said after finding out the tracking knowledge on distressed stone beams, the IIT Madras had instructed to increase the tracking system to rest of the beams (no longer distressed) on the location.
The court had appointed advocate N K Mohanty as Amicus Curiae as part of adjudication of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on inadequacy in renovation and repair of the Srimandir. City-based social activist Abhisek Das had filed the PIL.