The discovery of a submerged 500-year-old temple in the
Mahanadi
near
Cuttack
has created a buzz among locals as well as heritage enthusiasts. An archaeological survey team of the Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage (INTACH) located the temple at a spot upstream from Cuttack.
INTACH’s project assistant
Deepak Kumar Nayak
, with help from local heritage enthusiast
Rabindra Rana
, found the temple near Baideswar in the Padmavati area of Cuttack after repeated attempts.
According to them, looking at the architecture and materials used, the 60-foot-tall submerged temple dates back to the 15th century or early 16th century. “As the top of the temple used to be visible during summer, we knew it's approximate location. We searched for it, located it and have studied it as part of the documentation of the Mahanadi valley. The temple was dedicated to Gopinath Dev. History says that the Mahanadi had once flooded the area and changed course, eroding vast tracts. In the mid-19th century, the deities were shifted to the current
Gopinath Dev
temple in
Padmavati village
,” said
Ani Dhir
, project coordinator of
the Mahanadi Valley Project
.
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