PURI: The 12th century Shree Jagannath temple here has suffered minor damages due to cyclone ‘Fani’ that ripped apart the holy town on Friday, officials said Sunday.
“Yes, there has been minor damages to the temple, but the main structure remains unaffected. We will request the ASI to inspect the shrine,” P K Mohapatra, the chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), said.
The impact of the devastating cyclone that killed at least 21 people in Puri district, is seen from the Lion’s Gate, the main entrance of the temple.
The Lion’s Gate, also locally called as ‘Jay-Vijay Dwar’ (the passage having two idols of Jay and Vijay), itself bears signs of the severity with which Fani hammered the landmass.
“The idol of Jay has been broken and damaged,” Mohapatra said, adding that the other idol of Vijay is intact.
As the cyclone struck Puri when the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was undertaking certain repair works of the main temple, it was fitted with about 5,000 iron poles.
The scaffoldings standing tall close to the main structure, however, crumbled after being slammed by Fani with a wind speed of 200 to 240 kmph.
Most of the iron poles fell on the ground, while some of them were twisted, a senior official said, adding that the labourers climbed the scaffoldings while undertaking repair work at height.
A huge lion statue close to the temple also received minor damage as the scaffoldings collapsed on it. (AGENCIES)
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