Puri : Plans are afoot to clad three main doors inside the 12th-century shrine of Shree Jagannath Temple with silver.
“In the initial stage three main doors- Jay Bijay Dwara, Kaalahaat Dwara and Beherana Dwara will be clad with silver. The silver cladding of the doors will be done with silver donated by donors,” informed Development Administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration, Ajay Kumar Jena over phone.
Jena however, clarified that the idea to clad these doors with silver is in the proposal stage.
He added that Burma teak will be used for making these doors which will be later clad with silver.
He revealed that the design of the doors are being finalised following which those will be approved and it is a time taking process.
It may be pointed out here that wood of these doors has been damaged due to wear and tear.
While the Jay Bijay Dwara is the main entrance near the Bahar Katha leading to the sanctum sanctorum, the Kalahaata Dwara is the door of the sanctum sanctorum wherein the deities of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra are placed atop the Ratna Singhasana (bejewelled throne) and Beherana Dwara, the door through which devotees exit after having darshan near Bhitar Katha.
“These three doors are very old and are in a damaged state. Pratihari sevaks are having difficulty in locking them. The Chief Administrator had a preliminary discussion with five temple managing committee members in this connection,” said Madhab Pujapanda, a member of the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee.
Pujapanda revealed that Khimji Jewellers of Bhubaneswar had visited the temple and has done a preliminary estimate of the silver that will be required for cladding these doors.
“Khimji Jewellers has estimated that about 1920 kg silver will be required for cladding these three doors. These doors will be clad with a silver sheet of 1.63 mm thickness. A meeting in this connection was held on the day before Ganesh Puja. Deula Karana, Tadhau Karan, Commander, Niti Prashasak, Unanayan Prashasak, Pujapanda Nijog and Pushpalak Nijog, Pratihari and Muduli Nijog had attended the meeting,” Pujapanda said.
He further revealed that a donor has expressed willingness to donate the silver to be used for cladding of these doors which are in six pieces.
The Managing Committee member, however, said that Kalahaat Dwara can be only repaired or replaced when the Lords will leave the temple for the nine-day sojourn to Gundicha Temple during Rath Yatra.