Silver Cladding Of Singhadwara Completed Before Lords’ Niladri Bije In Odisha’s Puri

Puri: The sibling deities of Shree Jagannath Temple would be taken to the sanctum sanctorum of the 12th-century shrine in ‘Niladri Bije’ through the new silver-coated door at Singhadwar (Lion’s Gate), the main entrance, on July 1.

The 15-ft-high Singhadwar, which was of brass metal, was replaced with the silver-clad door, showcasing artworks and designs of Kalinga architecture, before the deadline Bahuda Jatra (return journey) of the deities. It has been clad with 525 kg silver donated by a devotee.

The work, which begun on June 21, a day after deities embarked on their 9-day annual sojourn to the Gundicha Temple, was implemented by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA).

Singhadwara is the first gate of the temple to be silver clad. The proposal for coating other gates of Srimandir with silver is under consideration. The temple administration had facilitated silver plating of seven other doors inside the temple – Jaya Bijaya, Bhogamandapa, Beherana, Sata Pahacha, Bimala Temple, Laxmi Temple and Adi Nrusingha Temple – using around 2,000 kg silver last year.

Meanwhile, Director General (DG) of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Kishore Basa on Thursday asserted that Garbhagruha (sanctum sanctorum) Jagamohan and Natyamandap of Shree Jagannath Temple are completely safe.

“the conservation process of Srmandir will continue on the basis of expert opinions of engineers, architects and archeologists of ASI and some officials of the Odisha government,” said ASI DG Kishore Basa.

There will be no neglect in the safety and conservation of Srimandir, he added.

ASI Superintendent DB Gadanayak informed that iron riddles have been put up at certain places to prevent rodents from entering the Garbhagruha. “We have conducted dry cleaning of Garbhagruha and put iron riddles at certain places to keep the rodents at bay,” he said.