Defying the recommendation of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the National Monument Authority (NMA), the heritage well lying in close proximity of the 13th century protected Ananta Vasudeva temple has been virtually vandalised with the construction of concrete platforms after the medieval era well being filled up.
The plot adjoining the Ananta Vasudeva temple was earmarked for shifting the kitchen complex, which at present is adjoining the temple. The well water was used in the cooking of the prasad (offering to God) prior to the days of piped water supply.
Both the ASI and NMA have been repeatedly demanding the shifting of the Roshaghara outside the prohibited zone. Archaeological Survey of India Director General V Vidyavathi during her visit in February 2022, had expressed concern over the threat to the monument from the fire and smoke emanating from the kitchen located just about 2.5 metres from the main shrine, said researcher Anil Dhir.
Apart from the intricately carved temple walls, there are two rare inscriptions placed near the kitchen. While giving its No Objection Certificate (NOC) to the Ekamra Kshetra Heritage Development Project, the NMA too had recommended that the kitchen should be shifted to an appropriate location outside the complex, Dhir informed.
“Demands for shifting the kitchen have been made time and again by the Odisha chapter of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) for over a decade. There have been multiple occasions when the temple kitchen – previously a thatched roof structure which has now been replaced by asbestos – has caught fire. There are 20 wood fired chullahs inside the kitchen which are owned by 25 Suar Nijog families. The making and sale of the Prasad in the adjacent Ananda Bazar is the source of bread earning of nearly 700 Nijog members”, Dhir, the Convener of INTACH’s Bhubaneswar Chapter said.
The ASI norms do not allow cooking ‘prasad’ in large quantities in such close proximity to the temple. The 2018 fire had damaged the entire kitchen and the main temple to a great extent. In 2013, the Government had asked the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation to build a new kitchen in the adjacent plot, where work is now underway. The Ananta Vasudeva Plaza plan was incorporated in the Karmakshetra Project which would have housed both the kitchen and the Ananda Bazar. However, the plot is presently being converted into a small path and a garden. Enquiries with the authorities have not elicited any definite plan.
The authorities have gone on a haphazard and unplanned spree of construction and demolition by throwing all rules into the dustbin. A hastily convened committee has been formed without any experts or local stakeholders, and the unfinished work of the previous regime is being taken up with renewed vigour, he added.