Pulling down of mutts for Heritage Corridor led to cracks in Meghanada Pacheri: Lord Jagannath’s chief Badagrahi

Ascribing the cracks developed on the Meghanada Pacheri of Srimandir to the indiscriminate pulling down of mutts and temples from around Srimandir, Lord Jagannath’s chief Badagrahi Jagannath Swain Mohapatra on Tuesday expressed his concern. 

While speaking to OTV, he said the damage has been caused to the Meghanada Pacheri deliberately.

According to him, the ancient mutts, temples and houses that existed around the Srimandir before the Heritage Corridor project (Parikrama Prakalpa) work used to provide support to the gigantic boundary wall of Srimandir. During the project, these ancient structures were demolished using JCB machines. Because of this, the usual support has been lost. This apart, the vibration generated during demolition work played a role as well. 

“The mutts and temples surrounding Srimandir used to provide support to the shrine. During parikrama prakalpa work, these ancient structures were pulled down using JCB machines. Because of this, the support has been lost, resulting in cracks on the Meghanada Pacheri,” said Jagannath Swain Mohapatra.

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“The ancient structures were also checking the saline air coming from the seaside. This is another reason why the pacheri developed cracks within a short period. Take it from me, if proper repair work is not done with special attention by the ASI, the day is not far away when it will fully collapse,” he said. 

At the same time, senior political leader Amar Satpathy also attributed the cracks on Meghanada Pacheri to parikrama prakalpa work. 

“The feelings of crores of people are associated with the Srimandir. So, during the prakalpa work, proper precautions should have been taken. If anyone committed mistakes then Lord Jagannath would deal out their deserved fate,” said Satpathy.