Puri: The much-anticipated inventory and assessment of ornaments inside the Bhitara Ratna Bhandar of Shree Jagannath Temple is set to begin from tomorrow morning, amid tight security.
The inner treasury, whose contents remain largely unknown, is expected to pose significant challenges during the counting process as neither the exact inventory nor the nature of ornaments has been fully documented in recent times.
Ahead of the exercise, a high-level preparatory meeting was held at the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) office. The meeting was attended by Chief Administrator of SJTA Dr Arabinda Kumar Padhee, Puri Collector Dibya Jyoti Parida, Superintendent of Police Prateek Singh, other senior officials, and servitor representatives. Justice Biswanath Rath, Chairman of the Ratna Bhandar High-Level Committee, joined the discussions virtually.
As per the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), the keys of the Ratna Bhandar will be brought from the district treasury, and the chamber will be opened in the presence of the District Magistrate. After each day’s counting, the treasury will be sealed again in the presence of the magistrate, and the keys will be securely returned to the district treasury.
Detailed discussions were held regarding the counting mechanism, security protocol, and roles of personnel both inside and outside the treasury. Experts in ornaments and officials from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will be present during the process to assess each item, including its weight and the identification of precious stones such as pearls and gemstones.
Additionally, all ornaments will undergo 3D scanning and digital photography to ensure proper documentation.
Earlier, the first phase of counting of movable Ratna Bhandar items was conducted on March 25. Subsequently, the counting of the outer Ratna Bhandar was carried out from April 8 to April 11.
Meanwhile, reports regarding two ornaments not matching the existing inventory list in the outer treasury have sparked discussions. However, Chhatisha Nijog representatives have dismissed claims of missing ornaments as baseless.
Puri Collector and Chhatisha Nijog Mahanayak Janardana Pati Joshi Mohapatra stated that it would be appropriate to comment on the issue only after the completion of the entire counting process.
Mohapatra further noted that the last counting of the inner Ratna Bhandar was conducted in 1978, and none of the officials involved at that time are alive today. As a result, there is no clear knowledge about the exact contents of the inner treasury.
He expressed confidence that no ornaments of the presiding deity have gone missing and stated that the findings of the current exercise will be matched with the 1978 inventory records after the opening of the inner Ratna Bhandar.
