Cyclone Fani: Naveen Patnaik Urges Centre to Assess Jagannath Temple Damage Caused

Bhubaneswar, May 9: Following reports that cyclone Fani has caused some damage to the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha government Thursday urged the Centre to ask the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) to inspect the damage caused to the 12th century shrine.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik requested Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma to depute a team of experts from the ASI to assess the damage caused to the temple. Cyclone Fani: Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Donates One Year's Salary For Relief Measures.

"It is reported that significant damage has been caused to the infrastructure of Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri. Even the Sun Temple is reportedly closed for tourists," Patnaik wrote to Sharma.

He said the assessment is urgently required so that appropriate remedial measures can be undertaken keeping in view the Rath Yatra festival scheduled for July 4.

The ASI is the custodian of the temples which reportedly suffered some damage by the cyclone that ripped apart the holy town on May 3. P K Mohapatra, the chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), had told PTI on May 5 that there has been damages to the temple, but the main structure remained unaffected.

The Lion's Gate of the temple, also known as the 'Jay-Vijay Dwar', has idols of Jay and Vijay. The idol of Jay has been broken but that of Vijay is intact, Mohapatra had said.

As the ASI was undertaking certain repair works of the main temple, it was fitted with about 5,000 iron poles. The scaffoldings crumbled after being slammed by Fani with a wind speed of 200 to 240 kmph. A lion statue also suffered minor damage as the scaffoldings collapsed on it.

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