ASI team visits Puri Jagannath Temple

PURI: A five-member team headed by ASI Superintendent Ashok Patel on Saturday inspected the Lions’ Gate at the Puri temple following the Orissa High Court direction of removal of all constructions alongside the gate.Earlier, the HC had asked the State Government to constitute a three-member expert committee to assess the structural damage to the Lions Gate, entrance of the Jagannath temple in Puri.It followed a recent petition by the Puri district administration alleging that two mutts - Badachhata and Pratihari Nijog buildings - on both sides of the shrine entrance posed a threat to the Lions Gate and boundary wall. The administration had sought the court’s permission to demolish the structures, even as the mutts managed to obtain stay orders in the past.  District Magistrate Arabind Agrawal accompanied the team.