Puri: Chief Administrator of Shri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra has said that the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) — which has been entrusted with the upkeep of the 12th century shrine — has apologised for the damages done to the temple during cyclone Fani.
ASI has apologised for the damages to the lion idols on south and west side of the main structure of Shri Jagannath Temple. These idols fell off after the iron scaffoldings surrounding the temple allegedly collided repeatedly with the main structure.
“The Superintending Archaeologist of the ASI has apologised for the incident,” said Mohapatra while adding that the idols have subsequently been replaced by the organisation.
It has assured that such incidents will never recur, he said.
Speaking over the possible damage to the Nilachakra of the temple, Mohapatra said that drone cameras will be used to study the current status of the Nilachakra and the footage will be used exclusively for ‘technical rectification’.
It may be mentioned here that the temple suffered extensive damages after extremely severe cyclonic storm Fani made landfall at the town May 3. Among others, the Jay idol at Lion’s gate, Nrusingha statue, Kalpabata, Ananda bazaar and Bhogamandapa had suffered damaged at the hands of the cyclone.
The temple administration has already assessed the damages and has pegged the losses at Rs5.1 crore.