Puri: After Odisha’s Law Minister, a senior servitor of Jagannath Temple in Puri has blamed the previous government’s “Parikarma Prakalp” (heritage corridor project) for the cracks that have developed on Meghanada Pacheri (compound wall) of the temple.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, chief Badagrahi of the temple Jagannath Swain Mohapatra said the construction activities during the project weakened the temple wall leading to the cracks.
“The mutts, shops and residential houses surrounding the temple were demolished with bulldozer and JCB machines during the construction of the heritage corridor. As a result, the temple wall lost the support from these structures and developed the cracks,” he added.
Mohapatra further said these structures were protecting the Pacheri from saline air coming from the sea. Now the wall is completely exposed to the salinity. “If urgent and proper repair works are not taken up soon, the wall will collapse in near future,” he warned.
Earlier, Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan said the damage was stated to have been caused during the eviction undertaken for the Parikrama Prakalp.
Stating that the cracks on the temple’s boundary wall have not been created now, the Minister said many people are of the opinion that damage to the massive boundary wall was caused during the eviction process undertaken for the project.
However, he said as soon as the cracks were detected, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) initiated necessary steps for undertaking repair work. Both ASI and Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) have been working in close coordination to take up the repair work expeditiously, he added.
Also Read: Cracks On Puri Jagannath Temple’s Meghanada Pacheri: Odisha BJP Blames Previous BJD Govt
