Puri: Members of the Srimandir Technical Committee and experts from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the Roorkee-based Central Building Research Institute and the general electrical department began examining the condition of the 12th century Jagannath temple in Puri on Wednesday. The team is on a three-day mission.

The team officials met members of the temple safety committee and the local ASI officials. They inspected Jagmohan, Natmandap, Beherana Gate, the second storey of the main temple and the Nilachakra, the metal wheel atop the shrine, during the inspection.

The team's focus will be on examining the shrine's structure , which is believed to have become weak over the centuries. Earlier, incidents of boulders falling from its walls had been reported. The condition of the Nilachakra will also be a focal area. The team, it is learnt, will deliberate on its findings at a meeting on February 23. The ASI authorities have completed installing iron scaffoldings in the southern side of the temple to facilitate the inspection.

The experts are expected to take part in a meeting at the ASI storeroom near the temple administration office.

Sources said the experts would examine the second storey of the main temple and take stock of the ventilation system. They will also check the lightning arrester installed at the shrine. An expert team had examined the second storey of the temple in 2012.