BJP, BJD duel over cracks on Puri temple outer wall

Bhubaneswar: The ruling BJP and Opposition BJD engaged in a war of words over cracks appearing on ‘Meghanad Pacheri’ or outer boundary wall of Puri’s Jagannath temple. The BJP and the Odisha government claimed that the cracks appeared due to construction activities carried out during the heritage corridor project by the previous BJD regime.

“The damage to Meghanad Pacheri was stated to have been caused during the eviction undertaken for ‘Parikrama Prakalpa’ (heritage corridor project),” Odisha’s Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said on Tuesday. “Many people, including local residents and priests, are of the view that the cracks appeared during the eviction process. They believe that the huge structure suffered damage during the eviction work,” he said.

Harichandan said as soon as the cracks were detected, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) started repair work. The Odisha BJP spokesperson, Anil Biswal, blamed the previous BJD government for the cracks on the Meghanada Pacheri. He alleged that 20-foot-deep excavation using heavy excavators was done around Meghanada Pacheri for the Parikrama project. The structure was put in danger, Biswal said.

“The people of the State are now paying for the mistake of the previous government. They (BJD) have done the heritage corridor project for political gains,” he said.Dismissing the BJP’s allegation, BJD MLA Ganeswar Behera sought to know whether the saffron party leaders were technical experts to level such charges. “Do the BJP leaders have technical expertise? The claim would have been acceptable had it been spoken by technical experts,” Behera said and alleged that the BJP’s allegations were politically motivated. Meanwhile, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) chief administrator Arabinda Padhee said repair work of the outer boundary wall was underway.