Plaster Chunk Falls off Puri Temple, Priest Hurt

BY: SUN STAFF CORRESPONDENT

The injured priest after being hit by the plaster chunk

Oct 08, 2012 — JAGANNATHA PURI, ORISSA — The functioning of the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) came under criticism after a piece of concrete plaster fell off from the pinnacle of the Jagannath Temple on Sunday evening, rekindling the memory of a huge stone tumbling from the temple on November 1st, 2011.

In the latest incident a priest, Debi Prasad Panda was injured a plaster chunk weighing around one kilogram fell on his head in the outer complex of the shrine. Panda was escorting some pilgrims when the mishap occurred.

A two-member ASI expert team from Bhubaneswar rushed to Puri on Monday to take stock of the situation. "Our engineers are on the job of inspecting the site from where the piece of plaster detached. It will be repaired on war footing," ASI's Superintending Archeologist S. K. Patel said.

Asked whether the arch stone (dadhinauti) of the temple was weak, Patel said: "I don't think it is weak as we inspect in regularly. We will take stock of it again." While priests alleged that the metal which fell off was a stone, Patel denied it. "It is not a stone. It is plaster," he said. At present, ASI is carrying out de-plastering work of the the jagamohan the (frontal porch) and repair of the Lion Gate, a main entrance of the temple.

Priests blamed the ASI for poor maintenance of the 12th Century shrine. "ASI is not getting serious despite a spurt in stone fall incidents in the temple. Most of the subsidiary temples inside the main temple precinct are in bad conditions," said a servitor, Gourishankar Singhari.

ASI experts examine pinnacle of Puri temple
[Click for large version ]

Devotees are jittery after the plaster collapse. "It is a matter of grave concern. The temple and ASI authorities should take steps to prevent recurrence of such mishap," said Prasanna Roy, a visitor.

Tumbling of stones at the temple is nothing new. While a one-ton stone collapsed on November 1st last year, a five-ton stone slab came crashing down from a structure (amlabedha) of the temple during heavy rains on June 14, 1990. Two heavy slabs fell right into the sanctum sanctorum on August 13, 1992, creating a flutter in the state. A 15-kg rock rolled down from the main temple on October 26, 1998 and fell near the Bimla Temple within the periphery of the Jagannath Temple complex. No lives were claimed in the mishaps.

Soon after last year's incident, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had drawn the attention of the former union tourism minister and also ASI top honchos about the poor show of ASI. Priests also went hammer and tongs at ASI. Under the banner of Chhatisa Nijog Sevayat Mahasamilani, the priests threw a spanner into ASI's repair work at the temple on December 5th, protesting its inefficacy.