Puri: Gajapati Maharaj Dibyasingha Deb favoured complete renovation of Srimandir Jagmohan after inspecting the structure Wednesday afternoon with members of the Srimandir technical committee and officials of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI.
Gajapati Maharaj, the chairman of Shree Jagannath Temple managing committee, held discussions with temple technical committee members and ASI engineers on the status of Jagmohan.
Architect Bhabani Sankar Mishra, royal priest (Rajaguru) Pramod Rajguru, Beherakaran servitor Shyamsundar Chyau Patnaik and Chhatisha Niyog Nayak Pattajoshi Mahapatra were present during Deb’s inspection to Jagmohan, Shree Jagannath temple administration (SJTA) sources said.
“Gajapati Maharaj preferred a timely and complete renovation of Jagmohan. He emphasised on proper coordination among servitors, temple administration officials and engineers of ASI for smooth renovation work,” Chhatisha Niyog Nayak Pattajoshi Mahapatra said.
A team of experts from IIT Madras will examine the dilapidated portions of Jagmohan February 25, according to sources. “Our employees will carry out the renovation work as per the advice of the expert panel,” ASI superintendent engineer Jivan Kumar Patnaik said.
SJTA sources said ASI officials will replace eight decayed stones of Jagmohan with new ones. “Our employees are now peeling away the white coat from Jagmohan. We can only ascertain the real status of the structure after the removal of white coat,” an ASI official said.
SJTA sources said ASI engineers and technicians are preparing a blueprint for the renovation. PNN