ASI Starts Inspection Of Jagannath Temple’s Sanctum Sanctorum & Jagmohan

Puri: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on Monday started inspection of the sanctum sanctorum and Jagmohan of Jagannath Temple in Puri.

A team of the ASI began the process after Lord Jagannath and his siblings departed to Gundicha Temple on their respective chariots for the nine-day annual sojourn.

After inspecting the sanctum sanctorum, the ASI officials would convene a meeting at the guest house of Works Department this afternoon to chalk out further strategies, sources said.

The repair work will be taken up once a detailed report regarding the structural condition of the temple is prepared, sources added.

The ASI is expected to complete the repair work inside the 12^th century shrine by July 23.

Along with inspection of these structures, a decision to examine a weak beam near the Garuda Stambha inside Nata Mandap was also taken in a meeting presided over by the chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Pradipta Mohapatra on July 4.

A joint team of ASI core committee and a joint committee of ASI and SJTA was to inspect the weak structure on Monday. An expert team of the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) from Roorkee in Uttarakhand was to arrive in Puri the same day for the repair work of the weak structure.

The committee was also scheduled to inspect the repair work of the Jagmohan, which had been completed by the ASI earlier.