Bhubaneswar: May 14: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought an immediate intervention for the safety of the 12th Century Shrine.
Describing the condition of Jagamohan in Shree Jagananth Temple, Puri as alarming, CM of Odisha came down heavily on the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for poor conservation and maintenance.
In his letter to the Prime Minister, Naveen urged for emergency structural intervention to avoid any accidental failure. ‘An intervention scheme with stainless steel supporting frames to protect the acute structural problems of ‘Jagamohana’ was forwarded by the Superintendent Archaeology, Bhubaneswar for approval of the Director General, ASI, based on the recommendation of the Technical Core Committee, which was constituted by ASI for overseeing the conservation work of ‘Jagamohana’. But, it has been disapproved by the Director General, ASI, without proposing any alternative solution to avoid any unforeseen failure with suggestion for further study’, Chief Minister wrote.
Naveen also expressed his frustration and concern about the indifferent attitude of ASI, which may lead to a serious situation in the Temple. ‘The Director General, ASI may be instructed to reconsider the proposal and come up with a concrete solution as early as possible in the interest of the safety of this holy shrine. The Government of Odisha undertakes to bear all the expenditures for the work,” Patnaik added.
It is to be noted here, Naveen’s letter to Modi came a day after the ASI headquarters in Delhi did not give approval to the proposal sent by an expert committee to spent nearly 2.5 crore for the repairing of Jagamohana.
