A day after multiple photos of the Sun Temple at Konark purportedly showing replacement of sculptures with plain stones surfaced on social media, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) issued a clarification in this regard saying that the images are “misleading”.
The images with sculptures are from the Natya Mandap of the temple while the photos showing plain stones are from the plinth of Jagamohana (the main temple), the ASI said.
The tweet regarding replacement of sculptures with plain stones is false and misleading, it said. The ASI further added that the plain stone work shown in the image was done in the mid-1980s. “ASI used plain stone only wherein there was no evidence left and as per ASI’s the then archaeological policy, only such portions were filled with plain stones. ASI would like to confirm that no sculpture has been replaced,” it said in a statement.
Notably, the photos came to the fore after removal of the iron scaffoldings at the temple.