One of the stone blocks that fell off the Baldevjew temple in Kendrapara. Telegraph picture

Kendrapara, Sept. 21: Two stone blocks weighing about 30kg fell off the 300-year-old Baldevjew temple here on Thursday. No one was injured in the incident.

The stones that fell off were from the gateway of the jhulan mandap of the medieval-age temple.

The mandap is used as a rest house for servitors and devotees. As the place was not occupied at the time of the mishap, nobody was injured. But it has brought into focus the unsafe condition of the temple.

“The temple was built during the Maratha rule in the early 18th century but the jhulan mandap is a comparatively new structure. It had come up during the early 1960s. Lack of periodic maintenance of the structure threatens the temple,” said Akshaya Pani, a temple trustee.

“The safety of the 300-year-old Baldevjew temple is at stake because of the lackadaisical attitude of the state archaeology department. Since the past two years, the temple has been undergoing a process of severe wear and tear. But the authorities concerned have simply turned a blind eye towards it,” he alleged.

Aware of the threat posed to the temple, the district administration has drawn the attention of the state archaeology department towards undertaking the conservation of the heritage temple.

“We have called upon the state archaeology department to carry out foolproof conservation work without further delay. The department has made a commitment to launch the project within a fortnight,” said Durga Prasad Behera, collector, Kendrapara.

Two years ago, the summit structure (dadhi nauti) of the place of worship had developed a large crack.

A month later, some portions of the bhog ghar (lord’s kitchen) caved in.

The crumbling temple had drawn the attention of the state archaeology department.

The inspection by archaeologists was followed by an announcement that a comprehensive blueprint was being readied to give the crumbling structure a much-needed facelift. But more than a year-and-half later, there are no sings of repair.

“Nothing has been done yet to plug the crack. The state archaeology department inspected the temple and made tall claims. But repair work is yet to move forward,” said Dharmadarshi Kar, a servitor.

“The conservation project will be undertaken shortly. The state government has accorded clearance to the 13th Finance Commission grants for the state-protected heritage project. A Rs 30-lakh refurbishment project is getting under way shortly for conservation of the Baldevjew temple,” said curator, state archaeology department, Ashwini Satapathy.

“The dadhi naitu, where the cracks had developed, will be plastered with limestone. There would be de-plastering work on the temple’s exteriors so that it can withstand nature-induced corrosion. Besides, the jhulan mandap, snana mandap, Mukhadwara, Maunsimaa temple and Vasudev temple are also being taken up for conservation,” said Satapathy.

“The temple is a four-way structure and is devoid of architectural design. The Maratha style of temple building was mostly simple without intricate stone cravings,” said Bijoy Kumar Rath, archaeologist and former superintendent of the state archaeology department.

“It seems the medieval period structure is bearing the brunt of the vagaries of nature. It requires instant conservation,” he said.