PURI: Repair work of the Natamandap of Sri Jagannath temple will start from Friday. This was decided at a meeting held on Thursday. Chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Ranjan Kumar Das said NOC has been given to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to carry out necessary repair works. The decision comes in the wake of the Orissa High Court’s directive to carry out repairs from Thursday. The meeting decided to adhere to a standard operating procedure (SOP) to ensure that the repair work is carried out without disturbing the daily rituals of the deities and public darshan.
Das said since the month-long Kartik Brata is underway and there is a heavy rush of devotees, repairs will begin from 6 am till 10 pm every day. The repair work will be taken up when there is time between rituals and darshan. This will be intimated to ASI personnel present on the temple campus by Srimandir officials.
On Friday, support columns will be placed under the beams on which cracks have been noticed.
Scaffolding will be raised under the roof of Natamandap over Garuda Stambha to conduct repairs. This apart, de-plastering will be carried out to ascertain the extent of damage in other parts of the roof and beam. Das said ASI had sought six hours time every day to carry out the repair work. However, it is impossible considering the huge rush of devotees. “After Kartik month, we will allow them more time.”
The meeting also decided to replace the three giant bejeweled beds (Ratna Palankas) of the Trinity with new ones. While Burma teak wood has been collected for the purpose, a devotee has donated silver to decorate the Ratna Palankas. The ivory artworks will be retrieved from the old Ratna Palankas and fixed on the new ones. The work will begin on Friday and be completed soon. The new beds will be commissioned in service of the deities on the Odia New Year (Pana Sankranti).
It was decided to repair the Prava (tiaras) of Bhu Devi, Sri Devi, Rama, Krishna, Madan Mohan, and Amabasya, the representative idols of the main deities. Among others, Puri collector Samarth Verma, SP K Vishal Singh, members of the temple managing committee, and officials of ASI attended the meeting.
Smooth darshan for specially-abled
The meeting decided to ensure hassle-free darshan of the Trinity for differently-abled devotees. The chief administrator said, “As per the current practice, differently-abled devotees have to register themselves at the counter following which our volunteers escort them to the temple. Efforts are underway to launch online registration for such devotees. This would help the temple administration have information regarding the date and time of their visit in advance.