Members of the Konark Suraksha Samiti (KSS), an organisation spearheading the movement for preservation and conservation of the Sun Temple, on Friday called a dawn-to-dusk bandh and locked the temple’s main gate protesting the reintroduction of the increased entry fee for the famous Black Pagoda.
The members of the outfit sat on a dharna in front of the monument in protest against the Government’s decision to reintroduce the revised fee.
Notably, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had last month announced a three-fold hike for domestic visitors and a 100-per cent for foreign tourists for entry into the historic monuments, including the Sun Temple, across the country. The ticket price was increased from Rs10 to Rs30 for a domestic visitor while the entry fee for foreign tourists was doubled from Rs250 to Rs500.
Following this, the KSS had earlier locked the gate of the Konark temple and staged protest in front of it. The Puri district administration had put the implementation of the hike on hold for a month and had assured the protesters to look into the issue.
“As the administration did not hold any discussion and reintroduced the entry fee hike, we decided to sit on a dharna,” a KSS member said on Friday.
“The temple doesn’t have adequate facilities like drinking water, among other things. We demand free entry to the temple on a particular day,” he added.
“We will continue with the protest till our demands are met,” threatened KSS convenor Badal Das.
The shops and other establishments downed their shutters in the town following the bandh call.
On the other hand, domestic and foreign tourists had to return disappointed as they were not allowed to enter the World Heritage Monument.
“We have come all the way from Rajasthan to see the famous Konark temple. But the gates have been closed. As we have come from such a long distance, we will be waiting for some more time for gates to reopen, otherwise we would be leaving without having an opportunity to see the temple,” a tourist said.