At a time when many ancient temples in the city await repair or completion of renovation work that has been left midway for years, there are other heritage sites bestowed with the fortune of renovation and repair by the Orissa State Archaeology or other bodies. Sadly, however, post-repair, most of these sites have been left neglected to face the threats of nature and vandalism of urbanisation.
With the Orissa State Archaeology facing staff crunch and other administration issues, the fate of monuments such as Kotiteertheswar temple might not be bright despite Rs 65 crore being sanctioned for conservation work.
Built around 1,000 years ago, the Kotiteertheswar temple in Old Town area has been repaired and reconstructed several times in the past few years. The last renovation work conducted by the Orissa State Archaeology under the X and XI Finance Commission was around four years ago. However, the heritage site still faces conservation issues.
Situated in the Kotiteertheswar lane that runs perpendicular to the Bindusagar lake, the temple stands in front of the Kotiteertha tank, a natural spring. The underground spring supplies water to the tank while the excess water moves out through an outlet in the southern wall of the tank. People bathe in the tank situated on the temple premises.
The temple is believed to have been built during the reign of the Kesharis in the 11th century. Many beautiful scrollworks with decorative motifs can be found at the lintel and doorjambs of the main entrance. A Gajalaxmi idol has been carved on the lintel. Attractive carvings of attendants to the lords are also found on the door jambs. The temple is made of light grey fine-grained sandstone. The seats of the parsva devatas (exterior deities) outside the main sanctum are empty.
Surrounded by residential buildings, the monument faces threat of encroachment. Moreover, the growth of vegetation on the temple dome defaces the beautiful architecture of the heritage site. The deity (a lingam) is situated much below the ground level where water from the surrounding tank and rainwater from the ceiling cracks enter. The white paint, used for marking the stones during renovation, also need to be cleared off the wall that largely distort the temple view.
A minor temple, situated on the premise, is empty and abandoned and has turned into a garbage dump of the people living around the monument. Moreover, the Kotiteertha tank, that is considered to have been present even before the temple, needs cleaning from the accumulated silt and clay. Locals say the government authorities should take steps to preserve the temple.
“The temple is an important monument. Not many people are aware of it. It would have been good had the authorities taken the monument under protection and maintained it,” said Parsuram Behera, a local resident.
Source: The Telegraph/Calcutta [February 01, 2011]