On Monday, visitors to the temple — which is located at a distance of 65 km from Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha — became victims of a honey bee attack. But the situation worsened on Tuesday when the furious bees attacked a group of 15 tourists, including four foreigners. The badly stung tourists had to be rushed to the local government hospital. While nine of them were discharged after a short time, the four foreigners and the two residents of Chhattisgarh required hospitalization.
The temple is not a stranger to honey bee attacks. According to the Odisha Sun Times, the authorities of the Sun Temple informed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) about the bee menace, expecting them to take action when something similar had happened in the past. But the temple received no assistance from the ASI at that time.
After Monday’s attack, however, the ASI took the matter seriously and visited the temple on Tuesday to investigate. ASI officials were present when honey bees attacked and injured the 15 tourists on Tuesday.
The ASI immediately swung to action and had the tourists evacuated from the temple premises. They not only shut down the ticket counters, but also announced that the temple will remain closed to visitors till the bee hive is removed.
The honey bee attack terrified not only the tourists, but also ASI officials, photographers, and temple authorities. The angry bees did not spare even those who were outside the temple premises.
The large bee hive is located near the main entrance of the temple. Reportedly, a troop of monkeys had disturbed the beehive, leading to the attack.
The Konark Sun Temple, a structure constructed in the 13th century in honor of the sun god by the Ganga king Narasimhadeva, resembles a large chariot with elaborately carved walls, pillars, and wheels.
