Bolangir: A huge portion of roof of Samaleswari temple near in Bolangir daily market collapsed on Friday afternoon following which the puja rituals of the presiding deity were stopped.
According to reports, the beam of the brick ceiling of the temple’s mandap caved in at around 4 pm. Fortunately, no one was hurt in the incident as no servitors or devotees were present in the temple premises at that time.
Alleging that the roof, which was already in an unsafe condition, collapsed due to the negligence of the Endowment Department, scores of servitors staged a road blockade in front of the temple to press for their demands.
The agitating servitors alleged that the Endowment Department is just completing its work by making minor repairs in the temple. Such negligence by the authorities concerned for the upkeep of the decades-old temple has resulted in the collapse of the temple roof.
Soon, District Collector Chanchal Rana and Deputy Collector Lambodar Dharua reached the temple to take stock of the situation. MLA Narasingha Mishra also held talks with the protesters. The demonstration by servitors was called off after the district officials promised to rebuild the temple.
It is learned that Prithviraj Singhdeo, the king of Patnagarh in Balongir, built the temple in 1914 and it was inaugurated in 1916. The royal family has been running it ever since. Later, the temple management was handed over to the government’s Endowment Department.
