File picture of renovation of Jagannath temple

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 3: The state government today urged the Centre to take urgent steps for timely completion of conservation and maintenance work of the 12th century Jagannath temple in Puri.

Tourism and culture minister Maheswar Mohanty, in a letter to his counterpart in the Union government Chandresh Kumar Katoch, said: “Painfully, the pace of repair and renovation work is getting slower at ASI level. The performance of local officials of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) circle in Bhubaneswar is not up to expectation. If the work is not completed within deadline, it will create a mess before Nabakalebara, which will ultimately hurt the emotions of millions of devotees.”

The Telegraph had, on December 2, carried a detailed report on ASI’s callous attitude on carrying out repair and renovation work of the Jagannath temple, compelling the state government to threaten the ASI of moving the court of law.

In March this year, the Orissa High Court had also ordered ASI to take up repair work on a war footing and complete it within three months. However, the ASI is yet to engage skilled labourers for the purpose.

The ASI, which was accorded the task of protecting the complex in the year 1974-75, is yet to gear up its machineries to take up conservation work.

After several incidents of stones falling from the ancient shrine, chief minister Naveen Patnaik had requested the Union minister of culture in May this year to ensure better upkeep of the world famous monument and opening of an ASI support office in Puri with a senior officer in the rank of deputy superintending archaeologist to technically supervise the work with the temple administration.

Mohanty, in his letter, said, “In view of the ensuing Nabakalebar festival in 2015 the maintenance of main temple as well as subsidiary shrines has assumed more importance than ever.”

Nearly 50 lakh devotees are expected to throng Puri to witness the famous festival in which the idols of the holy trinity – Lord Jagannath and elder brother Lord Balabhadra and sister Goddess Subhadra – will be changed.

A technical team of the ASI had undertaken a survey on the temple and said that the plaster had become weak at some places.

The committee found minor lapses in the conservation work particularly on joint sealing of stones, laying of tiles on roof of Kurma Bedha (inner boundary around the main temple) at a few places and installation of inferior stones at some places and random selection of monuments and structures due to various factors.