BHUBANESWAR/PURI: The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) will reschedule the rituals at the Shree Jagannath temple in Puri from February 23 to allow the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to carry out the remaining repair and conservation work of the Nata Mandap.
This was decided at the meeting of Chhatisha Nijog at Puri on Tuesday. Temple chief administrator Samarth Verma informed that a niti sub-committee had decided upon rescheduling the rituals in the temple for the Nata Mandap repair work which was approved by the Chhatisha Nijog on the day.
The ASI will carry out the repair work from February 23 to March 19 and during this period, the rituals of the temple will begin early. Accordingly, the Singhadwara (Lions’ Gate) will be opened at 2 am and all the rituals would be completed by 11 pm. “The ASI will carry out the Nata Mandap work from 1 pm to 7 pm daily during this period but this will not hamper devotees’ movement inside the temple and darshan of the Trinity in any manner,” he added.
Speaking on the occasion, ASI (Puri circle) superintending archaeologist Dibishada Brajasundar Garnayak informed that as per the Orissa High Court’s order, major conservation works of the Nata Mandap like fixing the dislodged stones on its roof, water tightening and iron beam weathering treatment have been completed.
“We will now provide a steel support system to the cracked beam on the east direction of Nata Mandap in front of the Garuda Stamba. We will try to finish the fabrication work for the support system within March 19,” he informed. The design of the steel support system, designed by IIT-Madras, has been approved by the ASI DG.
To a query on laser scanning of the outer wall of Ratna Bhandar, Garnayak informed that some minor cracks have been noticed on its northern wall which is the point of conjunction between the Ratna Bhandar and the main temple. These cracks will be repaired soon, he said.
‘Dignified’ darshan for PwDs
The issue of providing hassle-free ‘darshan’ of the deities to people with disabilities (PwDs) was also discussed at the Chhatisha Nijog meeting on the day. The temple chief administrator informed that a system is being developed in consultation with the managing committee servitors to ensure smooth darshan for PwDs