Orissa  has  grand  &  imposing   man  made  invaluable  archaeological heritage on  the  coast . They  are  all load  structured  , high  rise ( all above  180 feet  tall )  buildings . If   a   lithotrophic  wave   would  cause  any  trough or  cresting then  these  load  structures  are  likely  to  build  up  additional internal  stress  varying  between  moderate  to  very  high .  The  constituent  stone  members  are  already   old  & aged between   800  to 1100 yrs.  Moreover  they  structures may have lost  plum .   The  world  heritage  site  of  Konaraka is  on  the  shore .  We know  that  much  of  it’s  portion  had  collapsed  due to  ravages  by  natural  elements  & also because of  human  neglect . It  is possible  that  the Konaraka  had  close  encountered   the  great  Tsunami  that was caused by  the  eruption  of the Karakatow   volcano . The greatest  of  Hindu  shrines alias  the  great  shrines  of  Jagannath is  also on the  shore .  The  Lingaraj  temple is the oldest  & stands on laterite bed . It is located some 50 kms inland from shore line . It had felt the jolt .  At Puri  sea  beach  the lithotrophic  wave was clearly observed as sudden withdrawal of  shore line with petering of breakers . All these load  structures  are internally hollowed . All of  them  face  east i.e. they line  of structural elongation is  along E – W axis  in relation to

TN. The tremor  had passed through Orissa . The tremor  had  therefore approached  the Jagannath &  the Lingaraja in a transverse  manner , while  in  the  case of  the Konarak  it  may have  been  some what  angled . Immediate  engineering  survey ( of  these 3 tall structures )  is  therefore  warranted . Thus also arises a need to generate plum  line  records  for  ready  reference . We were not  aware that we do not  have any such  record ( for  any  of  the structures , although  some  are as  old  as 1500 yrs ) . INTACH  should  take this job .  If there has  been  any  effect  , it  is  likely  to  register  coming  monsoon , as increased  rain water seepage ( which  will  be  more  disastrous ) .

Annually millions  of   secular  &  heritage  tourists  visit  these  3  sites  in particular .  These  3  are  revenue  & permanent  non  govt. dependant  employment  generators.

Author:
Deepak  Bhattacharya
Bhubaneswar - India. – 751002; Studio Building , Kedar  Gouri  Road
91-[0]674-2430407 & 9861113858.  oddisilab@sancharnet.in