ASI surveys Konark Sun Temple to assesses condition of sand inside structure
ASI said a working platform is being set up to examine the stability of Jagamohana, following which a small hole will be drilled to ascertain the strength of structure
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has started erecting working platforms around the 13th Century Konark Sun Temple to assess the conditions of the sand inside the Jagamohana of the structure, and inside the famous structure that’s been filled with sand for over 120 years now.
Superintending Archaeologist of ASI’s Puri circle, Dibashad Gadnaik, said a working platform is being set up to examine the stability of Jagamohana, following which a small hole will be drilled to ascertain the strength of structure.
“We would then check the condition of the sand. The sand has settled down by 15 feet, leaving a vacuum in the top. We need to see whether the sand is loosely packed or tightly packed,” said Gadnaik, adding that laser and endoscopy scanning would be done once again to check the structure again.
ASI officials have not fixed a timeframe for the removal of sand from the sun temple though the sand packed in it has created a warm, damp environment inside, making it an ideal breeding ground for harmful moss.
“Once the stability of the structure is assessed, a technical core committee comprising additional DG (conservation), structural and mechanical engineers, independent archaeologists, historians, representatives of IIT-Madras and Central Building Research Institute would take a call on whether to remove the sand from the structure,” said the ASI superintendent.
If everything goes as per plan, ASI will drill a bigger hole on one side of the structure through which workers can gain entry to it. A stainless-steel support is being thought of to strengthen the top and distribute the weight evenly around the structure. Once that is done, the rest as well as the stone rubble inside the sand can be removed. Finally, the structure will be de-sealed so that visitors can go right through it.
In 1901, the then Bengal Lieutenant Governor JA Bourdillon, on the advice of an engineer named Bishan Swarup, had ordered that the 39-metre-tall Jagamohana be filled up with sand to keep it from collapsing into a heap of stones. Sand was poured into the structure from the top and one of its sides before sealing it off.
Though sand prevented the collapse of the monument, archaeologists, as well as experts who studied the structure for decades, found that it may be putting extra lateral pressure on its walls.