Experts of State Archaeology and director of culture Sushil Kumar Das on Tuesday inspected the 400-year-old Baladevjew temple in the town to ascertain the cause of falling of stones from the ancient structure.

Archaeologist Aswini Kumar Satapathy said the temple would be examined thoroughly and necessary repairs taken up as per the advice of the statutory technical committee.

A stone slab weighing 50 kg had fallen from the temple on Saturday, leading to cracks on the main temple. This is not a lone incident.

Such cases have been reported earlier raising questions about the safety of the temple. Nrusingha Patri, a priest of the temple, attributed it to faulty conservation of the temple.

Dhiren Sahoo, chairman of Kendrapara Municipality, conveyed the apprehensions of the devotees about the damage to the aging stone blocks which formed the roof of the main temple and some small structures, including the kitchen room, to the director of culture.

A State Archaeology team had inspected the temple four months ago and found that seepage due to heavy rain had eroded the ground underneath the structure leading to loosening of stones at the temple top, Satapathy said. The team has already started the renovation works after the recent incidents, he added.

Source: Times of India