Puri, July 14: After more than four decades, the Ratna Bhandar of Puri Shreemandir has been reopened Sunday in the presence of Justice Biswanath Rath, the supervisory committee chief.

Six specially ordered 'Sindooks' -- (wooden trunk) -- had arrived here Sunday for the safe-keeping of the ornaments and other valuables.

All the 'Sindooks' were brought in a truck. "The Shreemandir administration had specially ordered a total of 15 'Sindooks'. As many as 20 craftsmen completed the work of the 6 'Sindooks' in 48 hours. The work of remaining 9 'Sindooks' are underway and those will arrive soon," said the person, who brought all the trunks from Bhubaneswar.

The 'Sindooks' are made of teak wood having a brass roofing. The 11-member team have donned the traditional clothes along with the 'Agyan Mala' received from Lord Jagannath and the 'Sindooks'.

According to reports, the 11-member team includes Justice Biswanath Rath, Dr. CBK Mohanty, Prabin Parida (the representive of Puri Gajapati (King) Dibyasingha Deb), Chhatisa Nijog Mahanayaka (Chief Servitor) Janardan Pattajoshi Mohapatra, Shreemandir Chief Administrator Arabinda Kumar Padhee, Puri District Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain, an Archeological Survey of India (ASI) official, Bhandar Mekap Narayana Mekap, Deula Karana Chandra Sekhar Mangaraj and Tadau Karana Sudhanshu Sekhar.

Several servitors are on standby and they will enter the Ratna Bhandar via 'Singha Dwara' (Lion's Gate) if necessary.

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

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