Bhubaneswar: Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan on Friday confirmed that there is no secret tunnel/chamber inside the Ratna Bhandar of the Jagannath Temple in Puri.
The minister told the media, ‘The Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey conducted by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) confirmed that the Ratna Bhandar does not have any secret chambers of tunnels.’ He added that some cracks were detected inside the Ratna Bhandar during the survey and the ASI would repair them after the Kartika Purnima.
According to Harichandan, the state government was waiting for the final report from the ASI and would publish it soon.
“In view of the heavy rush at the temple during the Kartika month it is not feasible to carry out the repair work now. The repairing process will start after Kartika Purnima and completed within a month or two,” Harichandan said.
In reply to a question, the minister said, “The counting of valuables will be undertaken after the repair work of Ratna Bhandar. Besides, the counting process would be held inside the Ratna Bhandar keeping in view security issues.
