Cuttack: Orissa High Court has asked the Puri Jaganath temple administration "to provide maximum time and cooperate with the ASI" to complete the repair work of the Jaya Bijaya Dwar.

The court issued the direction while monitoring the progress of repair work of Jaya Bijaya Dwar - the connecting corridor between Jagmohan and Natamandap.

While submitting an affidavit, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on Tuesday sought intervention of the court for being allowed longer working hours for carrying out repair work of the Jaya Bijaya Dwar. The ASI expected to be allowed to carry out the repairs for the entire time when the deities will remain outside the sanctum sanctorum from the Snana Purnima till the end of rath yatra.

ASI counsel Chandrakanta Pradhan said the available time at the moment was not enough. Pradhan pointed out that the days between June 28 (Snana Purnima) and rath yatra on July 14, when the deities will be kept on the anasara pindi out of sight of devotees for a fortnight as a mark of symbolic illness after bath, could be used to carry out repair work uninterruptedly. Also, the entire duration of the rath yatra till July 22 can be used, the ASI counsel said.

Taking note of it, the division bench of Chief Justice Vineet Saran and Justice B.R. Sarangi asked the Shree Jaganath temple administration "to provide maximum time and cooperate with the ASI to complete the repair work".

The court posted the matter to July 5 for further monitoring of the Jaya Bijaya Dwar repair work progress.

In his affidavit, ASI (Bhubaneswar circle) superintending archaeologist H.A. Naik had said "the repair work of Jaya Bijaya Dwar has been taken up since May 12 and is in progress".

"The repair work will be taken up in two shifts - once in the morning from mangala alati to dwarapal and puja and then the afternoon from completion of second bhoga after madhyadhupa till sandhya alati," Naik said. "The work may be suspended on days when special rituals of deities are performed."