Minister Ends Speculations Over Opening Of ‘Bhitara Ratna Bhandara’ In Odisha’s Puri

Bhubaneswar: No decision has yet been taken on opening the inner treasure chamber of Jagannath temple in Puri. Odisha law Minister Pratap Jena informed this in the Assembly on Tuesday.

The Minister’s reply comes more than a month after an RTI activist claimed that the keys of Bhitara Ratna Bhandara of Puri Jagannath Temple are missing since 1970.

Informing the House about the measures taken by the government, Jena said as per Sub-Section 1 of Section 6 of Shree Jagannath Temple Act 1960, the inner treasure chamber can be opened only after the state government issues a special order in adherence to certain laid out conditions.

The Minister also stated that a team of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had inspected the Bhitara Ratna Bhandara in 2018 to ascertain if it was in need of preservation and repair. The team wanted to inspect the Bhitara Ratna Bhandara again when the deities are taken out of sanctum sanctorum.

It may be mentioned that the district collectorate had provided details to the RTI activist on November 18. As per the reply, the former treasury officer of Puri had informed the then collector about the missing keys of Ratna Bhandara.