BHUBANESWAR: In light of the two-day workshop being conducted at Konark on February 28 and 29, the alleged negligence of the Archaeological Survey of India in handling the affairs of the temple has surfaced. The ASI had recently made a statement that the entire scaffolding around the temple has been removed.
While removing the scaffolding on the eastern side of the temple, a statue was damaged. The knee of five feet Maithuna Couple was damaged and a large portion was chipped off. The chipped-off pieceof the sculpture could have been easily put together, but due to the negligence of the ASI, the piece has not been kept securely. The damage is clearly visible. There were earlier instances too where such mishandling had resulted in damage to fine sculptures. It has repeatedly been brought to notice of the ASI that semi skilled workers are being used for the work.
Earlier, May 21 2019, the Archaeological Survey of India has apologised to the Jagannath Temple administration for the damage caused to its lion statues during cyclone Fani. In that instance too, the iron scaffolding, put up by the ASI around the temple had fallen on the lion statues when the cyclone hit Odisha. There were allegations that the scaffolding fell due to the ASI’s negligence.
The Union Minister for Culture had announced during his last visit to Odisha that the future restoration plans for the Sun temple will be drawn up by attending archaeologists, engineers, and other experts.
The last conference was held in 1997 last to carry out an assessment of structural stability. Foreign experts had been roped in, but no action has been taken. The matter of the sand inside the Jagamohan, which has compacted to a level which is 17 feet below the roof, and the lateral thrust on the structural walls, has been a matter of concern.
According to General Secretary of the Konark Surakhya Samiti, the ASI and Government of Odisha should take active participation in conservation and restoration plans.
In December 2019, the then Union Culture Minister, Mahesh Sharma had categorically stated that there was absolutely ‘no threat’ to the world heritage structure in Odisha. At the high-level meeting held at Bhubaneswar on the December 10, the expert from the Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee too had certified that there was no threat to Konark Sun Temple. The Konark temple’s world cultural heritage status certainly demands that the structure be given immediate attention.