The ancient treasure of Puri Jagannath temple opened after 46 years… snakes are present here, medical team on alert

The Odisha government has opened the treasury of Jagannath temple i.e. Ratna Bhandar once again after 46 years today. It has been said by the Odisha CMO that the prestigious treasury Ratna Bhandar of the 12th century Jagannath temple in Puri has been opened after 46 years.

A list of jewelery and other valuables present in this treasure will be prepared. Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan said that the devotees of Lord Jagannath living all over the world were waiting for this moment for a long time. The quality of the jewelery will be checked and the valuables will be weighed. During this, the medical team and snake helpline were present.

The state government has formed a committee to monitor the list of valuables of this treasure. Justice Biswanath Rath, chairman of this committee, said that the Ratna Bhandar of Jagannath temple was opened. The former judge of the Odisha High Court said that the place where the valuables will be kept temporarily is also fixed.

Police vehicles with metal detectors and snake helpline team were present in the temple premises. The Ratna Bhandar Committee also held a high-level meeting. Snake experts were present in the temple. Large trunk boxes were brought for the treasure of the Ratna Bhandar of the temple. SP Pinak Mishra was present with the police force on this occasion. Priest Madhav Pooja Panda Samant was also present.

Superintendent of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) DB Gadnayak said that engineers will inspect the Ratna Bhandar for repair work. Personnel of Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) installed lights inside the Ratna Bhandar. It is feared that there are snakes inside the treasure. Snake Helpline member Shubhendu Malik said that we have come on the instructions of the state government. Two teams of snake catchers are on the spot. One team is inside the temple and the other is outside the temple.

Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan said that the state government had discussed the SOP in front of the temple management committee. Now necessary steps are being taken based on the guidelines. The Chief Administrator of Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has been entrusted with the responsibility. Digital photography of the jewelery of the treasure will be done.

The minister said that to maintain transparency in the inventory of the jewellery, the help of RBI is being taken. RBI representatives will be present during the preparation of the inventory. For this, they will work with the team formed by the management committee. There are separate teams for each task.

An expert team has been formed under the leadership of SJTA Chief Administrator for Ratna Bhandar. These include representatives of ASI, sevaks, management committee and high power committee as members of the expert panel.

Last time it took more than 70 days to complete the inventory process. Harichandan said that neither rituals nor darshan will be affected by this work. The previous BJD government did not open the Ratna Bhandar during its 24 years of rule. The BJP government has opened it within a month of coming to power. We have left it to Lord Jagannath to complete the process smoothly.