Puri Ratna Bhandar Reopening: Auspicious Time Set At 1.28 PM, 11-Member Team To Enter

Puri, July 14: The Ratna Bhandar (treasure trove) of Shree Jagannath Temple here will be reopened Sunday for the first time after more than four decades, informed Justice Biswanath Rath, the head of Ratna Bhandar supervisory committee.

A supervisory committee meeting took place Sunday morning ahead of the reopening of the Ratna Bhandar. The auspicious time to open Ratna Bhandar has been set at 1.28 PM, informed Justice Rath after the meeting.

An 11-member team, including Justice Rath and Dr CBK Mohanty, will enter the Ratna Bhandar. Among others, chief administrator Arabinda Padhee, Puri District Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain, five specific servitors including Bhandar Mekap, and two other members will also enter the Ratna Bhandar.

"We have asked for the key from the chief administrator's treasury," said Justice Rath. He also informed that the place where the valuables will be kept temporarily has also been identified.

Three teams -- ODRAF Team, Metal Detector Team and Snake Helpline Members -- reportedly have already started to act as part of the investigation team.

Devotees are barred from visiting Shreemandir for security reasons. As many as 15 platoons of police have been deployed in Puri, while five platoons are inside the Shreemandir for security.

Earlier Saturday, the state's Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan had said that the Ratna Bhandar will be reopened after more than four decades for an inventory of the ornaments and other valuables.

The State government has approved the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for reopening of Ratna Bhandar, recommended by the high-power supervisory committee and temple managing committee, the Minister said.

The Ratna Bhandar of the 12th-century shrine was last opened 46 years ago in 1978 and the reopening of it was a major political issue in the state during the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.

According to sources, Ratna Bhandar consists of three parts - the outer chamber holding ornaments used in rituals, the inner chamber housing non-utilised jewellery and other precious items donated by kings and devotees over centuries.

In 2018, then Law Minister Pratap Jena had informed the state Assembly that 'Ratna Bhandar' had over 12,831 bhari (one bhari equals to 11.66 gram) of gold ornaments fitted with precious stones along with 22,153 bhari of silver utensils and other items.