Bees Saal Baad: Konark Sun Temple Breaks Free Of Iron Scaffoldings

Konark: After nearly two decades, people can now get a clear view of the Sun temple here with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) removing a majority of the massive iron scaffoldings around the monument.

The ASI-Bhubaneswar Circle and Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), which have been studying the conservational aspects of the World Heritage monument, had recently inspected the temple and suggested measures to remove the scaffoldings.

Prior to that, the first, second and third ‘Pidhas’ of Jagamohan were strengthened. The joints that had cracked over the years were also sealed through grouting.

Sources said only some portions of the temple where paper pulp and chemical treatment of the sculptures are being carried out will continue to have the scaffoldings, but these will not obstruct view of the monument.

The scaffoldings were first put up in the south-east corner of Jagamohan in 1990 for conservation works and subsequently covered the entire structure.