Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government will soon lay down a standard operating procedure (SOP) for the conduct of inventory of valuables of the Ratna Bhandar of Shree Jagannath temple in Puri.
Revealing this on Sunday, Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan said the government has already initiated preparatory seps for the much-awaited inventory of Ratna Bhandar treasures.
Stating that the inventory process will be conducted inside the Ratna Bhandar of the 12th century shrine, he said a standard operating procedure (SOP) for the significant exercise will be issued soon.
Noting that the inventory process was delayed primarily due to the heavy flow of devotees in the holy month of Kartika, the Minister said the government will expedite the process after the sacred Panchuka Brata.
It may be noted that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had completed the repair and restoration work of Ratna Bhandar in July this year.
Before the renovation work commenced, the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) had relocated the ornaments and other valuables of both outer and inner chambers of the Lords’ treasury to two separate rooms on the premises of the shrine.
The ornaments and other valuables of the sibling deities were shifted back to the renovated Ratna Bhandar on September 23.
Notably, the state government had formed a 16-member committee, headed by former Orissa
High Court judge Justice Biswanath Rath, for opening the temple treasury and inventory of its valuables last year.
Following a request by the state government, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently nominated two officials to assist in the inventory of Ratna Bhandar valuables. The last official inventory of Ratna Bhandar had been conducted in 1978.