Cracks found in Odisha's Jagannath temple Nata Mandap

The Archaeological Survey of India has also discovered water seepage from the ceiling in the Nata Mandap of the temple.

Bhubaneswar: An inspection team of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on Wednesday found cracks in the column capital of Jagannath temple's Nata Mandap in Puri.

The team, which also includes officials of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Chennai and IIT Kharagpur, found the cracks during an inspection of the 12th-century shrine.

"One of the four central beams has cracks. We don't see any imminent danger but at the same time, it cannot be left unattended. We have decided to monitor the performance of that beam," said A.P. Gupta, a member of the team. 

The roofing and central beam performances will be monitored by IIT-Chennai and IIT-Kharagpur, he added. Besides, water seepage from the ceiling was also detected in the Nata Mandap.

The ASI will take necessary action based on the report submitted by the team for the preservation of the structure after discussing with the temple servitors and administration.