Plants cover the Champakeswara Temple and a statue at Old Town in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, May 17: The Champakeswara temple, a sacred monument for people living in the Ambika Sahi, is crying for attention after years of neglect.

Located at the Kotitirtheswar Lane in Old Town, the 13th century shrine can leave any visitor appalled for its gloomy state. Surrounded with climbers and dense plantation, the age-old structure is crumbling slowly.

Situated amidst what is now a maze of thin lanes, the massive temple is situated within an independent precinct. Local residents believe the temple is infested with snakes, which does not appear impossible looking at the mounds of soil, garbage and vegetation around it. Although people conduct their rituals within the sanctum, the lingam is missing and there is only a circular yoni pitha inside. Although not sculpturally embellished intricately, broken figures of deities are still found on the dome of the main structure. The mouldings on the external wall make it attractive despite a number of climbers and pipal stems growing on the arch.

The Orissa State Archaeology repaired the temple a few years ago. But the vegetation was not uprooted, say local residents.

“There were many cracks on the surface of the temple. In fact, the topmost portion of the dome was giving way to rain water that seeped within the sanctorum. These were repaired by the Orissa State Archaeology. However, the vegetation that surrounds the temple can harm the monument further,” said Suprabha, a local resident.

The residents of this area came forward to conserve the temple. They even renovated the floor of the sanctorum with marble stones. They have also installed a small idol of bhrushaba and made arrangements for electrification and lighting.

“We also tried to uproot some vegetation, but it grows after few days. Since the temple had no idols, we installed few laminated photos of deities. We have also built another temple nearby for Goddess Ambika,” said another local resident. The Champakeswara temple is built with laterite stones and thus it is more inclined to weather easily, believe archaeologists.

Sadasiba Pradhan, member of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach), in his book Lesser Known Monuments of Bhubaneswar mentions, “The temple is made of laterite that weathers easily. Care needs to be taken to clear the growth of vegetation in the superstructure at regular intervals.”

Some broken idols and structures of the temple are also found within the precinct. A small tomb, believed to 000000..belong to an earlier priest of the temple, is also seen close to the monument.

Although the repair work has not yet begun, it will start soon, say officials of the Orissa State Archaeology.