Bhubaneswar: More than two years after taking the decision to remove sand from sanctum sanctorum of the Sun Temple at Konark in Odisha’s Puri district, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) performed the groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday.
The ASI had accepted a proposal to remove sand from inside the Konark Temple, Odisha’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site, at a national conference on ‘Conservation of Sun Temple’ attended by then Union Culture Minister in February 2020.
The country’s premier archaeological conservation body targets to clear the sand entirely from inside the temple in 3 years. It has awarded the tender to BDR Construction Pvt Ltd to carry out the work.
One of the architectural marvels of the world, the 13th-century monument’s Jagamohan (assembly hall) has remained sealed since 1903 when sand was poured inside by then British government to save it from crumbling. The ASI formed a committee of experts to examine as well as decide the openings through which the sand can be removed. The Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), which was roped in by ASI to examine structural damages in the Jagamohan, was part of the panel.
As per recommendations submitted by conservation experts to ASI in 1987, sand could be moved out through three points which include ‘Amalakh’ (fluted finial stone) on the top of the structure besides two others on northern and western sides.
It may be noted that the ASI has successfully carried out dismantling and re-constructing of Mahakala temple in Ratnagiri and other temples outside Odisha. “In Konark’s case, we can open the Amalakha, dismantle the stones, number them one by one, take out the sand, treat the interiors and reconstruct the entire temple again,” sources in ASI-Bhubaneswar said.
The sources further said filling the interior of the temple with sand would have only saved the temple for 50 or 100 years but removing it and treating the interiors will improve the life span by at least another 500 years.
