ASI ensures repair of Puri Jagannath Temple before Rath Yatra on July 4

BHUBANESWAR: Cyclone Fani could not cause any major damage to the famous Jagannath Temple of Puri and the minor damages will be repaired before the annual rath yatra to be scheduled om July 4, said director general of Archaelogical Survey of India (ASI), Usha Sharma after visiting the temple on Friday.


"The repair and restoration work of the temple is going on on a war footing.

Senior ASI officials and engineers will camp in Puri to ensure that the work will be complete before the Rath yatra," Sharma said.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday urged the Union culture minister Mahesh Sharma to.send an ASI expert team to assess the damages and expedite restoration work.

A high level team of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) officials led by Sharma visited Odisha to assess the nature and quantum of damage caused by cyclone Fani to Jagannath Temple in Puri and Sun Temple in Konark.

The team visited the Konark and observed that by and large there is no structural damage to the monument. The team has informed that there is some dislocation in the scaffolding provided for chemical cleaning at upper level which is being set right. More than 200 trees have been damaged which are being cleared. The electric and illumination system including internet access has gone out of order, restoration of which will take some time.

"The monument will be opened to public in next 2-3 days. The chemical cleaning and consolidation of eastern face will be completed on priority. The monument will be restored back to normal within about a fortnight," she said.

Earlier, the Superintending Archaeologist, Bhubaneswar Circle ASI had inspected monuments including Shree Jagannath Temple at Puri. He found certain damages on the Surface but no major damage to the structure of the temple.