The State Government has once again blamed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for expressing concern over the tardy progress in maintenance work of the Shree Jagannath Temple at Puri and sought intervention of Union Minister for Culture Chandresh Kumari Katoch in this regard.
The State Government wants timely completion of the conservation and maintenance works of the Jagannath Temple ahead of the Nabakalebar festival of the deities in 2015.
law, Tourism and Culture Minister Maheswar Mohanty, in a letter to Katoch on Tuesday, said since the Nabakalebar festival is fast approaching, the maintenance of the main temple as well as the subsidiary shrines has assumed more importance than ever.
“But painfully, the pace of such desired works is getting slower at the ASI level, which is looking after the conservation of the temple since 1975. The performances of local officials of the ASI at Bhubaneswar are not up to the expectation in delivering goods. If the works are not completed within the stipulated dateline, it will create a mess before Nabakalebar, which will ultimately hurt the emotions of millions of devotees,” said Mohanty.
He also reminded the Union Minister that the State Government has also been requesting for opening of an ASI support office at Puri with a senior officer of the rank of Deputy Superintending Archaeologist to technically supervise and coordinate the repair works with the temple administration.