The Lingaraj temple management is in hot water because it permitted the raising of a 100-foot flag over the Dadhinauti (crown) of the historic shrine on the “kalasha.”
The large flag was raised on Thursday by Samatha sevayats on the Dhadhinauti, which had previously developed cracks, without consulting the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which is in charge of the upkeep of the 11th-century temple.
A devotee gave the flag to the temple and gave Rs 250 to the temple office for raising it atop the pinnacle of the 180-foot-high shrine, according to the secretary of Brahmana Nijog Biranchi Narayan Pati.
The temple management authorised the raising of the flag after receiving the payments.
Senior temple servants from different Nijog families, who called for consultation with environmentalists connected to the temple and ASI clearance before the flag was raised, brought attention to the problem.
He claimed that because to the yesterday’s severe wind, the temple’s structural stability may have been compromised. At the temple, flags often change every day. The length of the flag that is flown over the shrine must adhere to certain rules at the Jagannath Temple in Puri. Kamalakanta Badu, a senior temple servant, suggested that similar regulations be implemented for the Lingaraj temple as well. On Friday, the flag was taken down following a warning.
According to ASI officials, no authorization was requested from it before hoisting the enormous flag. They declared that it needed to be investigated to see if the Dadhinauti were affected in any way by the flag’s vibrations. The Dadhinauti has developed cracks, as service personnel flying the flag atop the “kalasha” have repeatedly noted. The ASI made repairs to the building in 2015.
Prasanta Patnaik