Puri: An underground scan of the Ratna Bhandar in Puri Jagannath Temple shall be carried out soon said the Odisha Law Minister on Monday. It will be checked whether there are any buried valuables in the storage house.
After inspection, the Ratna Bhnaddar will be repaired. After the repairs are done, the jewelry will be counted and accounted for. The law minister said that the list prepared in 1978 will be matched with the present data.
The safety of gems will be given priority. The repair work of the Ratna Bhandara will be done. The shifting of chests and almirahs from the inner and outer chambers of the Ratna Bhandar of Puri Srimandir was completed on August 25, informed Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Chief Administrator Arabinda Kumar Padhee.
While speaking to the media persons after coming out of the Lord Jagannath Temple, Padhee said that the empty chests and cupboards from the treasure trove have been shifted to a room near the Niladri Museum by following the standard operating procedure (SOP). “However, one iron chest could not be brought out due to narrow space at the doorpost. Due to this, the wooden portions of the doorpost was removed as per the SOP to facilitate the shifting of the iron chest,” he said.
Padhee further said, “Every single work was done with the support and cooperation of every people concerned. Everything has been videographed and done in the presence of the Executive Magistrate. Now both the outer and inner Ratna Bhandar will be handed over to the ASI for repair works for its conservation and preservation.”
“After completion of the repair works, the valuables will be taken back to the Ratna Bhandar and thereafter they will be counted,” the SJTA Chief Administrator informed.
Notably, the valuables from the outer Ratna Bhandar and inner Ratna Bhandar were shifted to the temporary strong room near Khata Seja Ghara and Changada Ghara on July 14 and July 18 respectively. Today, only the empty chests and cupboards were shifted to a room near the Niladri Museum.
