Jagannath temple Ratna Bhandar: Valuables to be shifted on Thursday, devotees’ entry restricted

The shifting was necessary for the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the custodian of the temple, to carry out conservation work inside the inner chamber.

Puri: The authorities of the Jagannath temple in Puri imposed restrictions on the visit of devotees to the 12th-century shrine for Thursday when valuables from the inner chamber of the Ratna Bhandar (treasury) is scheduled to be shifted to a temporary strong room, an official said.

The shifting was necessary for the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the custodian of the temple, to carry out conservation work inside the inner chamber which was reopened on July 14 after 46 years for preparing an inventory of valuables and the repair of its structure.

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The Ratna Bhandar, located in the basement of the temple, has an outer and an inner chamber.

“As the arrangements are made to open the inner chamber of Ratna Bhandar again on Thursday, we have imposed restrictions on the entry of devotees into the temple. None will be allowed to enter after 8 AM of Thursday,” Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) chief Arabinda Padhee said on Wednesday.

Only authorised persons and servitors will be allowed entry into the temple after 8 AM and just the ‘Singha Dwar’ (Lion’s Gate) of the shrine will remain open on Thursday, he said.

However, people can have darshan of the deities – Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra – as they are at present on their chariots parked outside the temple, said Padhee, an IAS officer.

The administration of Lord Jagannath’s temple in Puri is under the law department of the state government.

He said the valuables, donated to the Lord by devotes over the years, stored inside the inner chamber of the Ratna Bhandar will be shifted to the temporary strong room inside the temple premises.

“We will allow the ASI to carry out conservation work only after shifting all articles from the inner chamber of the treasury. Inventory will start only after the completion of the Ratna Bhandar’s repair and restoration,” Padhee said.

The ASI experts will also be given some time to take stock of its structural stability and it will be video-graphed, he said.

The entire exercise will be carried out following the standard operating procedure (SOP) prepared by the state government.

Chairman of the supervisory committee Justice Biswanath Rath had earlier stated that the members of a special committee will go inside the inner chamber between 9.51 am and 12.15 pm on July 18.

The inner chamber was reopened by cutting open three locks on Sunday. The team members found several almirahs, chests and boxes, but decided unanimously to shift the jewelleries on another date to the designated strong room.

The valuables from the outer chamber have already been shifted to a temporary strong room inside the temple premises in four wooden chests earlier.