Archaeological Survey India has removed the crown of singhadwar (main entrance dome) of Puri Jagannath temple for repairs. Picture by Sarat Patra Subrat Das

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 13: The Archaeological Survey of India has removed the crown of the singhadwar (main entrance) of the Jagannath temple in Puri for repairs.

“Our officials have removed the crown from the singhadwar yesterday since it was in an unsafe position. We will reinstall it once the repairs are over,” said the Archaeological Survey of India’s (ASI) superintending archaeologist A.K. Patel.

“The spherical dome was weak and we had supported it with scaffolding. Apprehending that the crown may break, we have removed it and preserved in our store for repairs,” said C.R. Das, another ASI official.

The 12th Century temple was declared a central government-protected monument in 1975 and the ASI has since then been entrusted with its conservation. At present, the ASI is undertaking repairs of the singhadwar and other structures on the temple premises.

In a related development, the bamboo plank holding the flag atop the main temple broke today following a storm and heavy rainfall. This is the second such incident in the recent past.

“The broken bamboo plank was replaced and the flag was also set in order. The temple’s rituals were disrupted,” said the temple’s public relations officer Laxmidhar Pujapanda.

Last week, lime plaster had fallen off the main temple injuring a servitor, Debi Prasad Panda, following which a team of ASI engineers and officials inspected the spot and took stock of the condition.

Earlier this year, an expert team of the ASI had detected the dilapidated condition of singhadwar. However, its repairs have almost been complete on the shrine’s premises.

The district administration had earlier taken up demolition of portions of the Badachhata Mutt and Chhauni Mutt located adjacent to the singhadwar following a direction of the high court to facilitate the repair works of the singhadwar.

The Odisha government had sought an order from the high court for immediate demolition of the extended portions of these two mutts to save the singhadwar from “imminent collapse”.

In 2008, an expert committee constituted by the ASI had suggested removal of the thick coat of plaster from the ceiling of the main shrine and all its subsidiary temples. The committee had said that the thick coat of plaster was exerting extra pressure on the fabric of the temple and would not check saline-induced deterioration and leakages.