Bhubaneswar: The long-awaited inventory and counting of valuables stored in the Ratna Bhandar of the Shree Jagannath Temple will commence once the chests containing jewels and precious items are shifted inside the Ratna Bhandar, informed Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan on Thursday.
Harichandan said that the Ratna Bhandar Sub-Committee, which met yesterday, has informed the state government that the shifting of the chests will be carried out on September 23 or September 24. Following the relocation, lighting arrangements will be made inside the treasury chamber to facilitate the inventory process, he added.
In a related development, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has approved the shifting of the donation box (Hundi) to enable a queue-based darshan system.
Law Minister Harichandan said that once the Hundi is relocated, a trial run of the new system will be conducted. Based on the assessment of its benefits and challenges, the government will finalize arrangements for permanent queue-based darshan.