Puri: A joint team comprising officials of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Works department engineers and members of Srimandir technical committee will examine the status of sanctum sanctorum July 16, two days after the presiding deities’ annual sojourn to Srigundicha temple.
This was revealed at a recent meeting of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) in Bhubaneswar. SJTA chief administrator Pradipta Mohapatra, members of Srimandir technical core committee, Works department secretary and ASI officials were present at the meeting.
Experts have been inspecting the structural status of temple sanctum sanctorum during the Rath Yatra since 1993. The ASI had renovated the sanctum sanctorum during early 1990s after two stones rolled down from the structure.
It is learnt that ASI experts and members of the technical committee will examine the status of temple Natamandap and Garuda pillar between July 16 and 23. “The experts have been told to prepare a blueprint for conservation of Natamandap. Some experts have pleaded for preservation of all figures engraved on Natamandap walls,” said an SJTA official.
The meeting also revealed that the ASI will install a load cell at Srimandir Jagamohan to monitor the load bearing capacity of a portal frame installed at the structure.
The director general of ASI has recently approved a proposal for installation of the load cell at Jagamohan. “The temple conservator will install the equipment during the upcoming Rath Yatra. Roorkee-based Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) will install the load cell at Jagamohan and observe the load-bearing capacity of the portal frame for three years,” said the SJTA official.
It is worth mentioning that the ASI and the Works department had installed a portal frame at Jagamohan and repaired its pillars and beams to strengthen the crumbling structure.