Puri: Shree Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri was closed for devotees from 10 am on Tuesday as the authorities began the process of shifting jewellery and other valuables of the sibling deities to the renovated ‘Ratna Bhandar’ (treasury) amid tight security under state-approved protocol.
According to sources, the members of Ratna Bhandar committee, headed by retired High Court judge, Justice Biswanath Rath, Puri Collector Dibya Jyoti Parida and SP Prateek Singh, entered the temple premises, which is under the cover of multi-layer security for shifting of the Lord’s valuables from the temporary strong rooms to Ratna Bhandar.
Apart from the Shree Jagannath Temple Police (SJT), district police, personnel of ODRAF, Fire Service and other security agencies were also present.
The ornaments were to be shifted during the Amruta Bela (auspicious time – 7.17 am to 11.17 am).
Public darshan was suspended to facilitate the movement and cleaning of key areas, including the Natamandap and Jagamohan. “Therefore, on September 23, public ‘darshan’ will be suspended from 10 am, and the ‘Natamandap’ (dance hall) and ‘Jagmohan’ (assembly hall) of the temple will be completely vacated. The entry of devotees to the main temple and the ‘Jhulan Mandap’ will be prohibited,” the SJTA, which oversees the functioning of the temple, said on Monday.
However, Mahaprasad will remain available at the Ananda Bazaar throughout the day. Normal darshan will resume once the transfer process is completed, it added, while appealing to devotees for cooperation.
The treasury was unsealed on July 14, 2024, after a span of 46 years, for repair and conservation work and the ornaments were moved to the strongrooms on the temple premises. The extensive repair and restoration work, which began on December 17, 2024, was completed by the Archaeological Survey of India in July this year.
Once the jewellery and other precious items are shifted back to Bhitara Bhandar, the inventory process under the supervision of experts from RBI will begin.
Notably, the reopening, repair and inventory of Ratna Bhandar was a key electoral promise of the BJP before they formed the government in the state in June 2024. The last inventory of both the chambers of Ratna Bhandar was done in 1978 by a nine-member committee headed by the then governor B D Sharma.
