Bhubaneswar: After a long wait of 46 years, the inner chamber of the Ratna Bhandar (treasure trove) of the Lord Jagannath Temple, Puri, was opened following the standard operating procedures on Sunday.
The ‘Ratna Bhandar’ was opened in the presence of former Orissa High Court judge Biswanath Rath, Dr Arabinda Kumar Padhee, the chief administrator of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), DB Gadanayak, superintendent of the ASI, and a representative of the titular king, Gajapati Maharaja of Puri.
After hours of inspections and other procedures, the team came out of the Ratna Bhandar around 5:20 p.m.
The chief administrator of the SJTA, Dr Arabinda Kumar Padhee, said, “With the blessings of Mahaprabhu, all gold ornaments and jewels present in the outer chamber of the Ratna Bhandar were completely shifted to the temporary strong room made in the Changada Ghara/Phula Ghara in the presence of a magistrate and other authorized members, following all SOPs of the government.”
After shifting the valuables from the outer chamber of the Ratna Bhandar to the temporary strong room, it was sealed in the presence of the magistrate, said Dr. Padhee.
When asked about the status of the inner chamber of the Ratna Bhandar, Dr Padhee said, “We proceeded to the Ratna Bhandar’s inner chamber, which was secured by three locks. However, the keys held by the district administration failed to open any of the locks. Following the standard operating procedures (SOPs) provided by the government, we broke the locks in the presence of the magistrate and gained access to the inner chamber. Upon inspection, we examined the valuables stored in the almirahs and chests.”
Adding on, Dr. Padhee said, “The committee decided not to shift the valuables in the inner chamber immediately as it would take more time. As per the rules, the process of shifting valuables has to be done at once, which was not possible today.”
“We will fix a date to shift the valuables of the inner chamber to a temporary strong room created at Khata Seja Ghara after the completion of the ‘Bahuda Yatra’ and ‘Suna Vesha’ rituals,” said Dr. Padhee.
