Uproar After ASI Allegedly Replaced Centuries-Old Murals Of Konark Temple With Plain Stones

The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has rejected reports that centuries-old stone carvings at Odisha's Konark Temple as part of restoration works at the monument.

On Monday, ASI tweeted saying such reports are false and misleading and that the images being circulated are from different locations. The controversy erupted after two pictures which were said to be before and after images from Konark Temple began making rounds on social media.

In the first images, murals dating back to the 13th century are clearly visible, while on the second image which looks like the same structure had plain stones. Some Twitter users had even claimed that around 40% of the stone carvings had been replaced by the ASI with plain stones and that the Odisha government tried to intervene and stop it but in vain.

It was known since 2018 that:

"40% of the artistic stone carvings of the existing Konark Sun Temple have been replaced by the ASI with plain stones, causing irreplaceable loss to the uniqueness of the temple".

Why, @ASIGoI ???https://t.co/qrkpQkNDvw

¡ª Abhijit Chavda (@AbhijitChavda) February 10, 2020

In November 2018, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had urged highlight alleged irregularities in the restoration work in a letter to Union Minister of Culture Mahesh Sharma.

Some also alleged that "under pretext of restoration all the erotic sculptures of Sun Konark temple has been reportedly disfigured. Reason provided: Schoolkids come here so it¡¯s not appropriate for them.¡±

¡°The ASI has deliberately and systematically destroyed the priceless stone carvings on the outer surface of the iconic Sun Temple causing irreplaceable loss to one of India¡¯s cultural and architectural wonders,¡± another twitter user said.

However, according to ASI, the image with sculptures is from Natya Mandapa while the plain stones images are from the plinth of Jagmohana (the main temple). It also added that the plain stonework shown in the image was done in the mid-1980s. ASI used plain stone only wherein there was no evidence left and as per ASI¡¯s the then archaeological policy, only such portions were filled with plain stones.

The tweet regarding replacement of sculptures with plain stones is false and misleading. The 2 images shown in the tweet are from different locations. The image with sculptures is from Natya Mandapa while the plain stones images are from the plinth of Jagmohana (the main temple). pic.twitter.com/FcT2Hih60k

¡ª Archaeological Survey of India (@ASIGoI) February 10, 2020

The plain stone work shown in the image was done in mid1980s. ASI used plain stone only wherein there was no evidence left & as per ASI¡¯s the then archaeological policy only such portions were filled with plain stones. ASI would like to confirm that no sculpture has been replaced pic.twitter.com/m4W7wjYkeJ

¡ª Archaeological Survey of India (@ASIGoI) February 10, 2020

The controversy came just a few days after ASI removed the iron scaffoldings at the world heritage site, which was there for nearly 30 years as part of the restoration efforts.

The 13th century Sun Temple which was built by Ganga dynasty king Langula Narasingha Dev was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. The nearly 800 years old complex has already lost its main temple due to years of neglect and Natya Mandap and only the Jagamohan remains. Last month Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Prahlad Singh Patel had announced that the heritage site will find a place in the list of iconic sites of the country.