ASI yet to begin work on Kedarnath temple base

Neena Sharma

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 1

Three years have passed since the 2013 mid-June disaster but the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is yet to begin the work to strengthen the foundation of the Kedarnath temple, as recommended by engineers from the IIT, Chennai.

Though the temple had survived the deluge, it was covered with debris and had suffered minor damages. Its stones had got dislodged and its foundation had weakened.

“As of now, we are engaged only in restoration work, including replacement of broken stones and chemical cleaning of walls at the temple. The flooring at the courtyard in the western part of the temple and in the area between east and north is still on. Several stone pieces had broken after water and muck swamped the temple area,” said Lily Dhasmana, in charge, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Dehradun Circle.

The Chennai IIT engineers had recommended the strengthening of the foundation of the temple for its long-term survival but this can only be done after the restoration work at the temple is complete.

The conservation teams from the ASI have been working on flooring for the past two years and have covered around 500 sq m.

“The carving and cutting of locally available stones in a harsh climate is a tough job. Initially, we had hired craftsmen from Rajasthan who are well-versed in the art of stone masonry. The original profile of the stones has to be matched so that there is no mismatch in symmetry,” said Dhasmana.

Further, the masons and the ASI restoration teams have only a few months to work on at the temple as Kedarnath becomes snow-bound.

Though the flooring work was started in 2014, the inclement weather and dearth of ASI staff for restoration work are a challenge. The Dehradun circle of the ASI is facing an acute shortage of manpower which has led to a considerable time being spent on the restoration work. The top post of the Superintendent Archaeology of the Dehradun circle is vacant.