Dikhyaa Mohanty 
19 years after the British closed it, the sand from the soaring Jagamohan of the 13th-century Sun Temple at Konark will finally be removed. On Thursday, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) started constructing a mechanised working platform on the building’s western side to help with sand removal.
It will be a lengthy and drawn-out process. According to accounts, the enormous and sturdy working platform would rise above the “Antarala,” a vestibule in the shape of an intermediate chamber connecting the temple’s “garbhagruha” and “mandapa.” The full sand removal procedure might take at least three years, according to ASI sources. The amount of sand used by the British to fill Jagamohan during their three-year construction project from 1901 to 1903 is still unclear.
On the grounds of the temple, the only World Heritage Site in Odisha, ASI officials staged a groundbreaking ceremony earlier in the day. According to Malik, the sand inside the Jagamohan currently reaches a height of 19.8 metres (64.9 feet) from the monument’s base and has settled by 5.8 metres (19 feet) from its top.
The window will be constructed 5 to 7 feet below the settlement’s top. To make way for an internal concrete platform that will be supported by supports from the inner hollow, sand from this region will be removed in the first stage. Malik stated that the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), situated in Roorkee, had performed tests which provided assurance that the building is safe enough for this task.
Several preservationists of cultural heritage have praised the decision. Anil Dey, author of “The Sun Temple of Konark” and an avid observer of the temple, previously said in a conversation with Express that the massive amount of sand within Jagamohan is settling, resulting in extremely high horizontal pressure and other issues.
The removal of sand from the Jagamohan has been demanded for more than ten years, according to INTACH State Convenor AB Tripathy. “This is the finest news for Odisha-specific archaeology in India overall. Many foreign specialists have recommended removing the sand over the past three decades,” he stated. According to CBRI estimates, the Jagamohan will weigh a massive 46,000 tonnes at the summit of the plinth.
