Cuttack: The 45-year-old Sarpeswar Shiva temple at Friends Colony here is being raised four feet above the ground to avoid flooding during the monsoon.
According to reports, during the monsoon, water from drains used to flood the temple which was below the road level.
Following a decision of the temple’s managing committee to raise the temple to prevent flooding during monsoon which often led to disruption in the conduct of daily rituals, the services of a building lifting company of Haryana has been hired.
The temple is being raised from its foundation using hydraulic screw jacks by the expert workers of the Haryana-based building lifting company. After nearly 22 days of work, the temple has been raised around 3.5 feet above the ground. Around a week’s time will be required to lift the temple by another six inches.
A trench of 2-3 feet in depth was first dug around both sides of the walls and piles are installed into stable bearing soil.
Hydraulic jacks have been then used to lift the house gradually. Depending on the condition of the structure it lifted rapidly or as little as a fraction of an inch per day.
A new concrete foundation is then built underneath once the temple is raised.
