Jagannath Temple Ratna Bhandara To Be Opened At 2 PM Today

Sandart by sudarshan Patnaik puri Jagannath temple Ratna Bhandar Puri: The inspection of Ratna Bhandara of the Shri Jagannath Temple would begin at 2 pm on Wednesday. This was announced by the Shri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) in the evening on Tuesday.

Besides, the SJTA also finalised the procedures to be followed in letter and spirit during the inspection of the Ratna Bhandara.

As per the procedures, there will be no temple repair work and other rituals after the Madhyanna Dhupa.

The temple would remain closed for the devotees an hour before the opening of the Ratna Bhandara. The Ratna Bhandara would be opened after the servitors sanitise the entire temple premises.

Two platoons of armed police force would be deployed at the four entrance gates of the temple which will be closed during the inspection. Besides, inside the temple premises, two platoons of armed police force would guard the four sides of the main temple.

The Odisha State Disaster Mitigation Authority (OSDMA) and Fire Brigade personnel would also remain inside the temple premises in case of any emergency while two members of the Snake Helpline would also remain present inside the temple.

The president and secretary of the Chhatisha Nijog would witness the opening and closing of the Ratna Bhandara from the Mukti Mandap outside the main temple.

He said the 10 persons who would be allowed to enter into the Ratna Bhandara are representative of Puri Gajapati king, Mahanayaka of Chhatisha Nijog, Bhandara Mekap, Tadhau Karana, Deula Karana, three engineers of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), one member of the ASI Core Committee and an amicus curiae appointed by the Orissa High Court.

Besides, the Niti Prasasak of the temple and the Puri SP are likely to be the part of the team if necessity arises.

The team will inspect the roof and wall of the Ratna Bhandara with the help of the search lights and not touch any other object inside it. As per the Records of Rights (Satwalipi) of the temple, each of the 10 members would be thoroughly searched before and after the inspection of the Ratna Bhandara. Each member would be searched twice by the police and once by the Bhandara Mekap. The search and the frisking of each member would be videographed. The members will not be allowed to carrying any object with them other than the spectacles used by them.

The members, before entering into the Ratna Bhandara, will perform worship of Lord Loknath (Lord Siva) and take a pledge that whatever they witness inside the Ratna Bhandara would not disclose outside.

The Ratna Bhandara would be locked after the members complete the inspection work. After the Bhitara (inner) Bhandara is locked, the key would be handed over to the Puri District Treasury Office which will keep it under its custody. Later, other chambers of the Ratna Bhandara would be locked in the presence of the Puri Gajapati King and the SJTA officials.