Puri: A boulder fell off from Baraha temple inside Srimandir premises in Puri that subsequently damaged the roof of Ekadashi temple in wee hours of Saturday, a source said.
According to the source, a 10-inch long and 5-inch wide boulder weighing more than 1kg fell on the roof of Ekadashi temple. No casualty has been reported in the incident.
Following the incident, a Srimandir official alerted ASI authorities. Notably, Baraha temple is situated in front of Bimala temple on the southern side of the main temple.
The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), however, has not issued any comment about the incident.
Though, this is not the first time that a rock fell off from the 12th-century shrine, Srimandir records reveal that stones and plaster chunks have been falling off the structure over the past 149 years.
Srimandir sources suggest that at least three stones rolled down from the ceiling of the shrine’s sanctum sanctorum July 9, 1875. However, there was no casualty as the presiding deities had been taken to Gundicha temple as part of annual Rath Yatra celebration.
Similarly, two stones had fallen off the sanctum sanctorum ceiling in 1937 and 1939, without causing any casualty.
A piece of plaster weighing around 8kg peeled off the main temple January 26, 1961. Similar incidents were reported in 1969, 1975 and 1979, Srimandir records stated.
Later, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) took charge of the shrine’s preservation in 1974.
Afterwards, a large piece of lime plaster came loose from the main temple August 16, 1985. Srimandir records claim that several pieces of plaster fell off the temple walls January 19, 1988. The shrine witnessed a similar incident February 6, 1990.
As per the available records, a huge piece of stone weighing around 7tonne rolled down from the 800-year-old temple’s dome June 14, 1990. However, there was no report of any casualty.
A chunk of lime plaster came off the temple wall October 3, 1991 even as the ASI took a slew of measures to repair a few dilapidated structures at the shrine.
The year 1992 bears a special significance for Srimandir when two stones weighing around 4tonne each rolled down from the sanctum sanctorum’s ceiling August 13. Several servitors, who were present at the sanctum sanctorum, had escaped the mishap by a whisker, the sources suggest.
Subsequently, the ASI and the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) carried out a massive renovation at the sanctum sanctorum by relocating the presiding deities to Srimandir Jagamohan.
After a gap of 12 years, a piece of plaster came off from the ceiling of Natamandap February 9, 2004, according to the temple records. A servitor had sustained injuries in the incident.
Srimandir sources said that an idol of a subsidiary deity fell off the Lions’ Gate September 20, 2011 to be followed by a piece of stone weighing around 1tonne that rolled down from the western entrance of the temple injuring a visually challenged person November 1, 2011.
Despite ASI’s effort to renovate the shrine, there were reports that claimed a stone came off the temple dome October 8, 2012. A year later, pieces of lime plaster came loose from the main temple.
Similarly, a stone slab weighing about 40kg fell off the ‘Jalakrida Mandap’ (water recreation hall) of Jagannath Temple in 2015.
Temple sources further claimed that a chunk of plaster fell off the Beharana gate of Srimandir in 2017.
In May 2018, a chunk of plaster came off from a beam at Srimandir’s Natamandap and injured a woman.
PNN
