Puri: An 11-member team opened and entered Bhitara (inner chamber) Ratna Bhandar of Shree Jagannath Temple at around 9.51 am on Thursday in the presence of Puri Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb.
An ancillary team will examine the almirahs and chests inside the inner chamber first and the valuables will then be shifted to the temporary strong room at Khata Seja Ghara, adjacent to the Ratna Bhandar outer chamber gate, inside the shrine complex. “Today, all the valuables and ornaments from the Bhitar Ratna Bhandar will be shifted to the temporary strong room as per SOPs laid down by the government,” Puri Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain told the media.
The entire process will be videographed to ensure transparency. Following this, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) members will also be given some time to take stock of its structural stability.
Bhandar Mekap servitors, Snake helpline team, ODRAF team and fire services personnel have been kept on standby. Although no reptiles were found in the Ratna Bhandar on Sunday, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) still deployed snake catchers as a precautionary measure.
Notably, entry of devotees into the shrine was banned from 8 am for smooth conduct of the process. Only Singhadwara or the Lion’s Gate remained open while the north, south and west gates of the shrine were closed as was the case during the opening of the treasury on Sunday.
ANTIQUE IDOLS
Several antique idols crafted from precious metals were found in the treasury’s inner chamber when government officials opened the Ratna Bhandar after 46 years on Sunday. These five to seven idols were not listed in any previous inventories and had turned black over the years. The committee members immediately lit a diya and worshipped the idols, Biswanath Rath, chairman of the 11-member committee set up to oversee the inventory of Ratna Bhandar. These idols will also be moved to the temporary strong room. “Details involving weight and make of the idols can be ascertained only after inventory,” he added.
INVENTORY MAY TAKE A MONTH
Inventory is the fourth phase of this entire exercise. “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,” SJTA chief administrator Arabinda Padhee said.
Once the ASI completes the repair works of the Ratna Bhandar, the jewels and ornaments would be brought back from the Khata Seja Ghara to the Bhitara Bhandar and examined for inventory. “This inventory process is likely to continue for a period of 30 to 40 days,” Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan said on Wednesday. The last inventory in 1978 was conducted by committee headed by the then Governor of Odisha B D Sharma and it continued for a period of 70 days (May 13 to July 23).
CRACKS ON RATNA BHANDAR
Sources said ASI is likely to conduct a 3D laser scanning of the inner surfaces of Ratna Bhandar to find out the stress level and cracks. In November 2023, the national monument conservation body had conducted condition mapping (laser scanning) at 49 points on the northern side of Ratna Bhandar to ascertain its structural stability. The 3D images obtained showed cracks at many locations on the weathered and weak lime plaster of the sloped surface on Ratna Bhandar walls.
The report further stressed the need to strengthen and properly water-tight the point of conjunction at the northern wall, that connects the Ratna Bhandar with the main temple’s Jagamohan, just below the first Pidha. It also called for de-plastering of the three outer walls of the Ratna Bhandar since it was not sure if the cracks were on walls or the thick plaster on them.
Water seepage into the inner Bhandara was revealed in a report submitted to the managing committee in 2018 when an ASI team inspected the Ratna Bhandar from outside an iron grill with searchlights as the keys were missing. It also found structural weakness in the outer chamber of the temple.