ASI expert team visits Puri temple

PURI: Following the Tuesday’s incident at Puri temple when a huge stone fell off the ‘Dadhi Nauti’ atop the western gate, a team of experts from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) arrived here on Friday.This Twelfth Century edifice is under the ASI for conservation and preservation since 1972.RS Jamwal, an expert on the temple repairs and conservation, inspected the damage. He said two more stones are dangling from the inner roof of the gate.All the three stones will be replaced with new ones in a fortnight.Jamwal also told mediapersons that cracks on the three other entrance gates will also be taken care of. Meanwhile, six stones of khandolite variety have been brought from Tapanga and are being shaped by the local ASI.De-plastering of the Jagamohan, an important part of the main temple, will also be taken up by the ASI.All works will be executed in consultation with the statutory expert body and the temple authorities, said ASI (Bhubaneswar Circle) Superintendent AK Patel.