Once again, the Patitapabana Bana atop the Jagannath Temple here was torn into pieces on Monday leaving people apprehensive of something inauspicious happening in future.
Just two days before Cyclone Amphan hit the Odisha coast, the holy flag attached to the shrine’s Nilachakra had snapped off on May 18. A similar incident had also happened during Cyclone Fani last year. Earlier on March 19, the Bana had caught fire from a diya placed near the Nilachakra.
It was suspected that the flag was torn on Monday due to lightning raising question on the earthing system of the temple.
Two years ago, a team of engineers from General Electrical Department (GED), Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) had inspected the earthing system of the temple. The team had then informed that eight of the 12 spikes of the lightning arrester fixed at the temple’s Anlabedha had broken.
Meanwhile, heavy rains lashed the pilgrim town on Monday leading to halting of the chariot construction work due to waterlogging on the Bada Danda.
