Ancient structures and idols lying abandoned at a corner inside the Mohini temple and (below) relief sculptures on the outer wall of the temple damaged by rainwater . Telegraph pictures

Bhubaneswar, March 8: The heritage den of Bhubaneswar — the Old Town area — is home to hundreds of ancient monuments and structures. While, the pressure of urbanisation and the vagaries of nature threaten most of them, many structures like the Mohini temple can still be saved if attended immediately.

The eighth century monument — the tantric site — that lies alongside the southern embankment of the Bindusagar Lake, is protected under the Orissa State Archaeology but is lying in neglect. There are growth pipal plants on the dome of the structure and it creates cracks on the wall of the temple. The statues on the outer wall of the temple have been damaged due to erosion by rainwater over the years. Adding to these woes, tall buildings have come up all around the state-protected temple, defying all rules against encroachment.

The shrine, one of the rare Shakti pithas in the Old Town area, is a living temple, with Goddess Durga’s tantric avatar — Goddess Chamunda— being worshipped in the sanctum. The 10-armed goddess can be seen in a dancing posture, standing on a corpse. Many tantric statues lie abandoned in the corner of the temple’s precinct. Local residents say, the Orissa State Archaeology had repaired the temple few years ago. “The officials who had restored the temple few years ago even laid a marble flooring in the sanctum. But the parsvadevatas (deities on the outer wall) need to be restored,” says Damru Sahoo, a visitor to the temple.

At present, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) is carrying out a cleaning and decorating project of Bindusagar embankment near the Mohini temple that includes cutting of trees around the precinct wall of the temple. But, the process that should need guidance of archaeologists owing to the fact that it is a protected site seems to have skipped the mind of officials.

“We are carrying out a project to beautify the Bindusagar tank. This should not harm the Mohini temple in anyway,” says a BMC official.

Lying just outside the Mohini temple is the Panchanana Shiva temple that dates back to the 11th century. This monument is under greater deterioration with a broken dome and growth of wild grass all over the structure.

Residential buildings that have encroached the temple’s backyard obstruct entry behind it. Also, seepage of rainwater into the sanctum further threatens the structure, most of the exterior structures of which lie broken.

“We carry out repair and maintenance drives with the finance commission’s awards and plans are on to repair these structures,” says an official at the Orissa State Archaeology.

However, though the 13th finance commission funds were announced in October last, the funds will be sanctioned by April this year and accordingly, the repair work might start towards the end of the year, says state culture secretary, Ashok Tripathy.