Puri: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will commence the renovation work of the Puri Srimandir Ratna Bhandar from December 17.
A meeting of the Chhatisha Niyog meeting chaired by Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Chief Administrator Dr Arabinda Kumar Padhee on Tuesday decided that the renovation will start after the second Bhoga Mandap is completed and will continue from 1.00 pm to 5.00 pm daily.
Padhee said, “It has been advised not to undertake renovation on Saturdays, Sundays and special days. Devotees will have darshan of Lord Jagannath and his Sibling deities from outside (‘bahara katha’) on days when the renovation work will be undertaken.”
The SJTA Chief Administrator of the Jagannath temple has informed that the renovation work will be completed within three months.
Similarly, the repair work will be done as per the guidelines of the state government. After the repair work is completed, the ornaments will be transferred from the temporary Ratna Bhandar. After the transfer of the valuables to Ratna Bhandar, the evaluation work will be undertaken.
The inner Ratna Bhandar will be repaired first and then work on the outer Ratna Bhandar will be taken up. According to the ASI official present in the meeting, first, the cracks in the walls of the Ratna Bhandar will be inspected, and its de-plastering and cleaning will be done. Subsequently, some stones will also be replaced. After this, the core conservation work will start. Later, work like pointing and grouting will be done.
After the repair work is completed, all the gems and ornaments of Mahaprabhu, which are now in the temporary treasury, will be taken to the Ratna Bhandar. Later, the evaluation work will begin undertaken.
