Is the famous Sun Temple in Konark crumbling? Five rocks fell from the temple’s edifice over the past week but Archeological Survey of India is unmoved.
Is the famous Sun Temple in Konark crumbling? Five rocks fell from the temple’s edifice over the past week but Archeological Survey of India (ASI) is unmoved. Instead, there have been attempts to hush up the matter.
Eyewitnesses said a small- or medium-sized rock falls off the temple every alternate day, but caretaker ASI was turning a blind eye. A worried state archaeological department has sought a detailed report from ASI. “We are worried,” superintendent CB Patel said.
President of Konark Surakshya Samiti Bhagirathi Swain blamed it on the unskilled labourers ASI was engaging to install iron grills around the monument.
He said the monument was declining due to lack of care and maintenance.
Scared officials moved the fallen rocks to an unknown place, away from public glare. But some are still lying there. “The Sun Temple is on the brink of a collapse,” another Suraksha Samiti member Narayan Bahinipati said.
Minute observation reveals that one rock fell from the north-east corner of the entrance to the monument (from the side of the elephant gate) and the other from the north-west corner. The black pagoda has developed huge cracks.
The monument faces other problems, too. The ASI used chemicals for its preservation without proper guidance. As a result, over 40% of the art inscribed on stones has faded beyond recognition. Even the iron scaffolding set up on the north and south sides to support the temple has begun rusting and falling on the art work, defacing it.
“I was a police officer here 27 year ago. Over the years, the monument has disfigured and changed,” rues Prafulla Kumar Mohanty.
In January 16, 2006, on ASI’s advice, a scientific team comprising 15 members visited the site and suggested a number of steps for its protection and renovation. The team found that 16 ft of sand had loosened under the sanctum sanctorum.
The team advised ASI to remove the sand, replace all supporting iron structures with steel rods and use chemicals to improve drainage and prevent water-logging during rains. But the ASI did not act. During rains, there is 4-5 feet of water-logging on the premises.
ASI officials were contacted but they declined to comment on the matter.
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