Bhubaneswar: The repair work of Jagannath temple Ratna Bhandar (treasury chamber) in Puri is set to resume today.
According to sources, Ratna Bhandar repair work began on December 17. However, the Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) had decided to suspend the repair work of the Ratna Bhandar from December 25 to January 2 to avoid overcrowding and chaos during the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
Talking to the media yesterday, Puri Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain informed that repair work will commence Friday, with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) team fully prepared to undertake the task. The work will be executed as per the predetermined schedule set by the ASI, following which additional tasks will be carried out.
It is pertinent to mention that before the work was halted, the removal of lime plaster from the inner and outer Ratna Bhandar of the sibling deities revealed cracks on the underlying stone surfaces. Experts attribute these cracks to the expansion of iron rods used to hold the stones together, which has caused damage to several stones over time.
As per the plan, the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) looking after the repair work will replace all the stones showing cracks. In addition, rusted iron beams will be substituted with steel beams, akin to those utilised in the Jagamohan.
