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Bhubaneswar: In a bid to ensure better conservation and restoration of Puri temple, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday asked the union ministry of culture to open a supporting office of Archeological Survey of India (ASI) which has been entrusted with the task of maintenance of the 12th century shrine in Puri.
In a letter to the union culture minister Chandresh Kumari Katoch, Naveen said the ASI does not have a dedicated unit office at Puri to look after the day to day upkeep of the monuments. He further said that the Director General of the ASI had assured him to station a senior archeologist to co-ordinate the conservation work of the temple.
“While discussing with the Director General of the ASI in February, 2012, I was assured that a senior officer in the rank of Deputy Superintending Archeologist will be stationed at Puri to supervise and co-ordinate the conservation work of Sri Jagannath Temple”, Naveen said in his letter.
Further, the temple managing committee had also written to the ASI to open an office in Puri consisting of a Deputy Superintending Archeological Engineer along with other supporting staff, the letter said.
Naveen requested Katoch to take immediate step in this regard before the famous Nabakalebara festival-2015. In view of the Technical Expert Committee report, he also asked the union minister to give similar priorities on the conservation of the subsidiary shrines of the main temple.
