Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has written to Union Culture Minister Chandresh Kumari Katoch to open a unit office of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) at Puri with adequate staff for ensuring structural safety of the Shree Jagannath Temple.
Patnaik , in his letter, has stated that the ASI does not have a dedicated unit office at Puri to look after the day-to-day upkeep of the monuments. He pointed out that the ASI Director General had earlier assured him to station a senior archaeologist to coordinate the conservation work of the temple.
The Chief Minister has requested Katoch to take immediate step in this regard before the famous Nabakalebar festival of lord Jagannath in 2015. He has also asked the Union Minister to give similar priorities on conservation of the subsidiary shrines of the main temple.
It may be noted that earlier the State Government had asked the ASI to open a permanent administrative office exclusively to deal with the 12th-century temple.
At present, the ASI has posted only a Conservation Assistant for executing the ongoing works as well as for supervising the upkeep of the temple. The sole junior-rank officer is not capable of managing the magnitude of the works as well as of effectively monitoring the temple structure.
Many other monuments in the country like Khajuraho and Taj Mahal have dedicated ASI offices with requisite staff, The ASI, which has been in charge of the Shree Jagannath Temple since 1972, has been coming under fire frequently from different quarters over the manner of its maintenance of the temple.