The old iron fence of British origin has been removed and a bronze fence has been installed. Arun, the charioteer of the sun, is seated on the top of this 16-inch stone pillar.
It is said that there is a large stone altar at the same height as Arun. In the 18th century, during the reign of the then Maharaja Divyasingh Dev, the Arun pillar was shifted from Konark and is now adorned in front of the Singhadwar of the temple.
Devavrat Sahu, the development administrator of the temple, says that the previous iron fence was weak. There was a risk of devotees getting injured in the heavy crowd. Now the bronze fence looks beautiful and is not dangerous.
But the devotees are not able to accept it. It is alleged that the devotees’ religious sentiments have been hurt by the fact that the Arun pillar is surrounded by a fence about 4 feet high.
Devotees used to touch the Arun pillar and bow their heads before entering the Singhadwarar to have darshan of the Thakur. Now, with the construction of a chest-high fence, devotees have been deprived of this right, they said with anger.