BHUBANESWAR: The land adjacent to the Centrally-protected Ananta Vasudev temple, which was to be used for shifting of the temple’s kitchen, is now been converted into a pathway and a garden. In the process, a heritage well has also been filled up.
Under the government’s Ekamra Kshetra Heritage Development Project, the plot adjoining the temple was earmarked for shifting the kitchen complex, which is at present within the temple premises. The well water was used to cook the ‘prasad’ before a piped water supply system was put in place.
Since the last one decade, both Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Bhubaneswar chapter, have been demanding shifting of the temple kitchen or ‘roshaghara’ outside its prohibited zone.
There are 20 woodfired chullahs inside the kitchen, owned by 25 Suar Nijog families. The making and sale of the prasad in the adjacent Ananda Bazar is the bread earner for nearly 700 Nijog members. On a few occasions, the kitchen has caught fire, the last incident being in 2018.
ASI DG V Vidyavathi, during her visit to the temple in February 2022, had expressed concern over the threat to the monument from the fire and smoke emanating from the kitchen located just about 2.5 metres from the main shrine. The ASI norms do not allow cooking ‘prasad’ in large quantities in such close proximity to the temple.
Apart from the intricately carved temple walls, there are two rare inscriptions placed near the kitchen. While giving its NOC to the Ekamra Kshetra Heritage Development Project, the National Monuments Authority (NMA) had recommended that the kitchen should be shifted to a location outside the complex.
Subsequently, the state government had asked the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) to construct a new kitchen in the adjacent plot where the work is currently underway. The Ekamra project incorporated the Ananta Vasudeva Plaza plan which would have housed both the kitchen and the Ananda Bazar.
“However, the plot is presently being converted into a small path and a garden. The official records of the said plot clearly state the existence of a well. Filling it up is a criminal and punishable offence. Besides, the use of heavy machinery near the temple is in gross violation of the AMASR rules,” said Anil Dhir, convenor of INTACH Bhubaneswar chapter.