PURI: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday said the damage to the Jagannath temple due to cyclone Fani was huge and directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the temple administration to complete all repair works before Snana Purnima on June 17. The Chief Minister visited the temple and took stock of the situation at the shrine and the damages caused by the cyclone. The annual Rath Yatra will be celebrated on July 4.
On his arrival at temple gate, Naveen was escorted by the temple’s Chief Administrator PK Mahapatra and Puri Collector Balwant Singh, IGP S P r i yadarshi, SP Umashankar Dash and temple repair monitoring core committee member NC Pal. The Chief minister saw the damage to Jai Vijay idols, the door keepers of the deities, Nrusingha idol, the huge lion statue on the body of the temple, uprooted Kalpabat tree and other affected portions.
There are six severely damaged portions to be repaired by the ASI while temple administration would take up repair of 22 two places in the temple. The main temple was entrusted to ASI since 1974 for conservation and repair. Earlier, the temple administration had assessed that `5.10 crore was needed for repair and restoration works and submitted the requirement to the State Government. Naveen offered prayer to Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra before leaving Puri.