Puri: In order to escape the eyes of locals and media, a ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey was stealthily carried out Saturday in the dead of night for Shrimandir Parikrama Prakalpa.
Allegedly, the GPR survey was not previously conducted before the construction works around Jagannath temple in Puri.
Following a number controversies and protests, the state government through Odisha Bridge and Construction Corporation (OBCC) Limited directed Gujarat based company Geocarte Radar Technology Private Limited for the survey as the government has to submit an affidavit in this regard before Orissa High Court in Cuttack.
According to a source, detailed survey of the ground was conducted through a GPR system in prohibited areas of the project site including southeast, south, west and north sides of the Vaishnavite shrine.
“As expressed by Puri MP Pinaki Mishra, if one radar survey was earlier carried out by the state government prior to taking up the construction works then what necessitated for another survey?” many local intellectuals questioned slamming the state government.
On being queried, two technicians said, “GPR survey work is underway for the last couple of days. We have been working as per the instruction of OBCC and are required to finish the work maximum within four days. We will also submit a report to OBCC thereafter.”
“Now, ground mapping is being done around the Jagannath temple and Geocarte has been instructed to locate monuments, temples and historical artifacts under the ground, if any,” the technicians added.
Notably, officials from Archeological Survey of India were not present.
Prime work of Geocarte is to gather information about different objects lying under ground through an advanced mapping technology. It also does scanning of concrete structures and archeological surveys.
OBCC, the state government agency executing Shrimandir Parikrama project, has inked an agreement with Geocarte for radar survey.
PNN
