With the existing 13th-Century Sun Temple at Konark facing decay and unlikely to stand for a long period, the Odisha Sanskruti Mancha on Sunday proposed to the State Government to initiate steps to create a new Sun Temple without any further delay.
Addressing reporters here, Mancha president and former MlA Bikram Keshari Burma said, “Since the existing Sun Temple is in a deplorable condition, the Government must take steps to create another temple similar to the 13th-Century shrine. Such a proposed project requires 50 acres of land and will cost `10,000 crore. Nearly 1,000 workers will be engaged for the project, which would be completed in five years.”
When asked, noted stone sculptor Padma Vibhushan Raghunath Mohapatra, who was present in the Press conference, reiterated that a second Su Temple can be built with everybody’s cooperation.
“We are successors to the artisans who had created the Konark temple in the 13th Century. Therefore, we have the traditional knowhow to play with stones. Odias are certainly talented enough to create another Sun Temple,” Mohapatra said.
Mohapatra added, “If the replica (of Sun Temple) will be half the size, 150 feet, nearly equal in size to the Puri Jagannath Temple, it will take about eight years to complete. If it’s a full-size one (300 feet), longer time will be needed.” last year, Mohapatra had submitted a proposal to the State Government for creating another Sun Temple.