Even as a two-day workshop on the Sun Temple began at Konark on Friday, the sheer negligence of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in handling the affairs of the temple has already been exposed.
The ASI had recently patted itself on its back with a statement that the entire scaffolding around the temple has been removed. While removing the scaffolding on the eastern side of the temple, a statue was damaged. The knee of the five-feet Maithuna Couple was damaged and a large portion chipped off. This piece can be easily re-fixed, but due to the negligence of the ASI, it is not done. The damage is clearly visible from the ground level.
There were earlier instances too where such mishandling resulted in damage to fine sculptures. It has repeatedly been brought to the ASI’s notice that semiskilled workers are being used for the repairs.
Earlier on May 21 2019, the ASI apologised to the Jagannath Temple administration for the damage caused to its lion statues during Cyclone Fani. In that instance too, the iron scaffolding, put up by the ASI around the temple, had fallen on the lion statues when the cyclone hit. There were allegations that the scaffolding fell due to the ASI’s negligence.
The Union Minister for Culture had announced the present workshop during his last visit to Odisha and said the future restoration plans for the Sun Temple would be drawn up by attending archaeologists, engineers and other experts.
The last conference held to carry out an assessment of the Sun Temple’s structural stability was in 1997. Foreign experts had been roped in, but no action has been taken. The matter of the sand inside the Jagamohan, which has compacted to a level which is 17 feet below the roof; and the lateral thrust on the structural walls has been a matter of concern.
According to researcher Anil Dhir, general secretary of the Konark Suraksha Samiti, the ASI and the Government of Odisha should take active participation of local stakeholders while deciding conservation and restoration plans. Dhir, who was present during the meetings, held in 1997, 2010 and 2019, said none of the recommendations made in these meetings were implemented.
In December 2019, the then Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma had categorically stated that there was absolutely “no threat” to this world heritage structure. At a high-level meeting at Bhubaneswar on December 10, the expert from the Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee too had certified that there was no threat to the Konark temple. But the temple’s world cultural heritage status certainly demands that the structure be given immediate attention, says Dhir.
