Puri: The repair work of Jagmohan of Shri Jagannath temple would begin from the north-west side, said the technical core committee members after inspecting the work site inside the temple here this afternoon.
Reports said the members of the technical core committee led by GC Mishra, members of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and a team of experts of Mapei Construction Products India Pvt Ltd had a close inspection of the damaged portions and the pockets of Jagmohan after climbing up the scaffolding.
Talking to OTV after the inspection, ASI Superintendent Jiban Kumar Patnaik said as per the decision taken by the committee, the repair work would begin from the north-west side of Jagmohan.
“We have found damaged portions in the capital stone the repair and restoration work of which will be taken up very soon,” he said.
He also said of the four pockets of Jagmohan, there has been a slight damage in the west pocket which needs a minor repair.
“We will try to consolidate the damaged portion. If necessary, we will deplaster the damaged portion of this pocket to measure the extent of damage and plaster the area again after repairing it,” he pointed out.
Regarding the steps to be taken by the technical team to prevent the dust particles from entering into the temple during the repair work, Patnaik said this has been discussed with the temple administration which has informed us to provide air cotton at the repair site to prevent the entry of dust particles. Apart from this, the committee is also awaiting the report of JK Pande, a specialist from Dhanbad, in this regard.
Asked about the scheduled visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the temple for the darshan of the Lords on February 7, Patnaik said a letter has been written to the ASI Director General and Regional Director who will remain present at the temple and brief the Prime Minister about the ongoing repair and conservation work of Jagmohan.
Replying to a question on whether the ASI is hopeful of completing the Jagmohan repair work before the Snana Purnima by June this year, he said considering the overwhelming support of the servitors, temple administration and the devotees, the work would be finished before the ensuing festival.
The repair work of Jagmohan started from January 27 with the scaffolding work by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) team which was completed yesterday.