Pilgrims Banned from Climbing Sun Temple
at Konark

BY: SUN STAFF CORRESPONDENT

Jan 09, JAGANNATHA PURI, ORISSA — Receiving flak from different quarters over the spate of accidents inside the Sun Temple at Konark, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has stopped allowing pilgrims to climb on the ‘ruined' monument for the time being. The ban came a day after two tourists tumbled down from the uneven and rough steps of the 13th century shrine on Wednesday and Thursday.

"We have restricted the movement of tourists at the temple. They have been stopped from climbing on the monument for their own safety," said local ASI official, Sraban Kumar.

Tourists will enjoy the architectural grandeur by simply walking around the chariot-shaped Sun Temple. "Visitors are allowed to move around the temple on the ground only. And the restriction is there for a temporary period only. We will soon come up with a solution to avoid the accidents. Until then, nobody will be allowed to climb the monument," Kumar said.

The ASI, which is in charge of the maintenance of the Sun temple, was left in the doghouse after the back-to-back accidents on Wednesday and Thursday. While a 50-year-old man from Bangalore fractured his hand after his foot slipped from a stone structure on Wednesday, a teenage boy sustained injuries after falling the very next day.

Some locals had demanded that the tourists' access to the ruined parts of the monument be stopped immediately.

The move, meanwhile, evoked mixed reaction from tourists and travel professionals at Konark. A few local hoteliers welcomed the measure of the ASI, saying that it would minimize accidents to a great extent. But there were some who disliked it. "Tourists are purchasing tickets to spend time amid the marvelous architectures. But they were disheartened after being stopped from climbing the monuments. This is not the solution to curb accidents," Jitendra Kumar Dash, a local restaurateur, said.

Notably, while a domestic tourist pays Rs 10 to enter the Sun Temple, a foreign tourist needs to purchase a ticket worth Rs 250 to gain entry into the Black Pagoda. Nearly 25 lakh domestic tourists and 25 thousand overseas visitors pay visit Konark annually.