Cyclone Fani: Naveen urges Centre to assess damages to Srimandir, Konark

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today sought Centre’s intervention to assess the damages caused to Shree Jagannath Temple at Puri and Konark Sun Temple by cyclone Fani which hit the State on May 3.

In a letter to Union Minister of State (I/C) of Culture, Mahesh Sharma, Patnaik stated that cyclone Fani caused extensive damage to the infrastructure of Puri Srimandir and Sun Temple.

The Sun Temple which has been tagged as a world heritage site by UNESCO is now out of bounds for tourists.

In view of the upcoming Rath Yatra scheduled for July 4, Odisha government has urged the Union Minister to depute a high-level team of experts to assess the damages caused to these structures.

“As the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is the concerned agency for maintenance and upkeep of these world famous temple sites, I request you to consider deputing a high-level team of experts to assess the damages caused to these structures so that appropriate remedial measures can be undertaken by ASI at the earliest,” wrote Patnaik.