Bhubaneswar: A team of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) inspected the progress of sand removal from the 13th-century Sun Temple at Konark in Odisha.
The six-member team led by ASI’s Additional Director General Janhwij Sharma inspected the progress made in removing sand from Jagamohan or the assembly hall of the shrine.
The structure was filled with sand in 1903 and it was sealed by the then British administration to protect it from collapsing, according to official records.
“Konark Temple is a world heritage site, and we conduct inspections from time to time. It was a regular inspection today,” Sharma said.
Though the structure remained intact, the ASI during one such inspection had found that sand filling had reduced, leaving a vacuum at the top, officials said.
The ASI had in February 2020 accepted the proposal to remove sand from the temple, which is the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Odisha, they said.
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An endoscopy study carried out by the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) to examine structural damages revealed that the sand filling settled by around 12.5 ft and some stones had dislodged, they said.
The ASI then engaged a construction company, which after a brief pause resumed the work in August 2023 with a target to complete it in three years.
PTI