Pradhan urges Culture Ministry to restore 500-yr-old temple found in river

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in a letter to the Union Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel has said the non-profit Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage had examined the 500-year-old temple and deemed it to be of major historic significance and in a good state of preservation, and urged the Culture Ministry to restore the ancient temple found in the Mahanadi river.

Bhubaneswar: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has urged the Culture Ministry to take steps for restoration and relocation of an ancient temple that remained submerged in Mahanadi river, which was discovered recently in Odisha.

In a letter to Union Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel, Pradhan said the non-profit Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage (INTACH) had examined the 500-year-old temple and deemed it to be of major historic significance and in a good state of preservation.

As you would be aware, a 500-year-old temple dedicated to Lord Gopinath, a form of Lord Vishnu, has re-emerged out of the Mahanadi river in Nayagarh district of Odisha. It is learnt that the submerged temple was discovered mid-river near Baideswar in the Padmavati village near Nayagarh, the Union Petroleum and Steel Minister said.

The 55-60 feet submerged temple dates back to the late 15th or early 16th century, considering its construction style and materials used for the construction. It is theorised that the temple was submerged in 1933 following floods in the region, Pradhan, who hails from Odisha, said in his letter which was released to the media here.

Keeping in mind the intangible historical, cultural and religious significance of this temple for the people of Odisha, I seek your personal intervention in directing officials of the Archeological Survey of India for undertaking restoration and relocation of this temple to a suitable site, Pradhan said.

The submerged temple was located recently during an exercise as part of a documentation project of heritage sites in the Mahanadi river valley, according to Anil Dhir, project coordinator of INTACH in Odisha.

INTACH also wants the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to take steps for relocating the ancient temple to a suitable site and restoring it, he said, adding that the ASI has the required technology and expertise to undertake the operation.

Stating that INTACH has so far located as many as 65 ancient temples in the Mahanadi river during its documentation project, Dhir said many of the temples in the Hirakud reservoir too can be dismantled and reconstructed.

He said the submerged temple was located in the region which used to be known as "Satapatana" in the early days. However, with the river changing its course due to catastrophic floodings and the entire village got submerged.

In the mid 19th century, the deities of the vulnerable temple were shifted and installed in a safer and higher place, which is presently the Gopinath Dev temple of Padmavati village, he said.

Dhir said INTACH Odisha launched its project on the documentation of the heritage of the Mahanadi valley early last year. A survey of all the tangible and intangible heritage of the entire length of the Mahanadi, from the source to the sea, covering a distance of nearly 1,700 km, is in its final stage of completion.

(PTI Report)