BHUBANESWAR: Structural condition of Jagamohan, a sprawling prayer hall facing the sanctum sanctorum of Puri's famous Jagannath Temple , is highly unsafe and might collapse anytime. This is the fear expressed by Gopal Chandra Mitra, who on Sunday resigned as the acting chairman of a technical core committee set up by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for supervision of the conservation work at the temple.Mitra reportedly quit in a huff after the ASI last week rejected an estimation and repair plan of the Jagamohan hall, prepared by the core committee. "I do not want to reveal the exact reason behind my resignation. All I want to say is that the Jagamohan structure needs urgent repair. There are cracks in stone joints, beams and pillars of Jagamohan. A mishap may occur any time,” Mitra said.Mitra apprehended Jagannath Temple might face the fate of Sun Temple in Konark if immediate restoration work is not carried out. “Problems had occurred in the Sun Temple, leading to collapse of pillars, so it had to be filled with sand to protect the monument,” he said.On March 29, the committee’s chairman and retired professor of IIT-Kharagpur AP Gupta inspected the condition of the hall and recommended installation of steel structures to strengthen the four pillars. On May 5, the ASI headquarters in Delhi disapproved the core committee’s estimation for an expenditure of Rs 2.5 crore towards purchase of stainless steel to be used in the repair work.The poor upkeep of Jagannath Temple has become a political issue with ruling BJD and opposition Congress and BJP training their guns on the ASI. "It is high time the ASI and the Union culture ministry wake up to protect the Jagannath Temple,” said senior BJP leader Bijoy Mohapatra, who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March and drew his attention about the ASI’s poor show. "Though the PM directed the culture minister to ensure expeditious repair of the temple, the ASI is not serious at all," Mohapatra said.Leader of opposition Narasingha Mishra said the ASI lacks interest to protect the 12th century shrine. “ASI has been neglecting the Jagannath Temple. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik should meet the Prime Minister and discuss the issue,” Mishra said. State Congress president Prasad Harichandan said the Centre should direct the ASI for expeditious repair of the Jagamohan.On Friday, Naveen wrote to Modi and sought his “immediate intervention” for safety of the 12th century shrine. Naveen described the condition of Jagamohan as “alarming” and flayed the ASI’s 'lackadaisical attitude.' He said the state government is ready to undertake to bear all the expenditure of the repair work.