The renovation works at Jagdish Temple, located between Ghantaghar and City Place at Udaipur, is facing perpetual delay and is yet to see the light of day. 

The last report by UdaipurTimes, where our team had visited the temple and taken the details from the Head Priest was followed by a visit to the Devasthan department, Govt. of Rajasthan at Udaipur with an intention to address the situation. The Devasthan department had confirmed that they will be giving the task of renovation to INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage).

However, even after these many months, when the situation was status quo, our team visited the Devasthan department once again. This time however, the department said that the original quote of Rs 5 lakh for the renovation by INTACH was replaced with a revised quote of Rs 75 lakh, which is out of the budget of the department. The Assistant Commissioner of Devasthan department, Deepika Meghwal said that the renovation work is not being handed over to the Archaeological Survey of India.

The need for renovation at Jagdish Mandir

Jagdish Temple, one of the prime historical properties of Udaipur has been witnessing deterioration in the walls and across the premises.  Water leakage, weeds and plants growing out of the stone sculpture, loose stone, which can drop down any moment, are some of the hazards that are apparent in the premises.  The Devasthan department, according to the Head Priest is well aware of the situation.

Given that neither Devasthan nor the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) have been able to resolve the issue of water leaks, it will now be handed over to the Archaeological Survey of India, as confirmed by Devasthan department.

INTACH had initially given an estimate of Rs. 5 lakh to the Devasthan department and had committed to complete the works by the end of March this year. INTACH had also discussed public collaboration towards funding for the completion of the task.  However, INTACH could garner approximately Rs. 3.5 lakh from public support. Later, a survey by the Delhi team of INTACH projected the cost to be around Rs. 75 lakh, which caused the Devasthan department to step back.

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According to Deepika Meghwal, Assistant Commissioner of the Devasthan department, there aren't enough specialists on hand to complete this task in the correct manner. When Lalit Pandey, the convener of INTACH, was approached by the Udaipur Times, he said that there was a technical issue that would not allow the works to even commence easily.  He did not say anything further.

This, currently, is where things stand for the mammoth Jagdish Mandir, a prized possession of Udaipur.