Puri: The Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee at its meeting here today decided to recommend the State Government to allow the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to inspect the inner Ratna Bhandar of the 12th century shrine during Rath Yatra next year.
“The Managing Committee agreed to send a recommendation to the State Government to allow the ASI to conduct an inspection of the inner Ratna Bhandar during the Rath Yatra next year (2024 Rath Yatra),” informed Samarth Verma, Deputy Chief Administrator, Shree Jagannatha Temple Administration (SJTA).
Verma said that the Managing Committee members were apprised of the ASI’s recent letter to the SJTA requesting necessary support for conducting an inspection of the Ratna Bhandar.
The ASI had also written a similar letter in 2018 seeking permission for inspection of the Ratna Bhandar during Rath Yatra when the Lords are out of the temple, Verma added.
He said the Managing Committee discussed in detail the issues related to inspection on normal days when the Lords are inside the temple and during Rath Yatra when the deities are on their nine-day sojourn.
The Managing Committee came to the conclusion that if the inspection is undertaken during the Rath Yatra the Nitis (rituals) of the Lords will not be affected and the lakhs of devotees visiting the temple for darshan of the Mahaprabhu will not be inconvenienced, Verma said.
He said the Managing Committee has opined that in the meanwhile a technical committee be constituted with the ASI, Managing Committee members and senior engineers of the temple administration. The technical committee by using modern technology like laser scanning and other survey mechanism make an external assessment of the structural condition of the Ratna Bhandar and submit a report to the Managing Committee in its next meeting, he added.
Varma further informed that the Managing Committee will request the state government to constitute a high-level team preferably chaired by a retired Justice of the Supreme Court or a retired Justice of High Court to supervise the opening of the inner Ratna Bhandar and other paraphernalia.
