Puri: In view of prevailing heatwave conditions, the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) on Saturday announced the temporary suspension of Ratna Bhandar inventory process, which will resume in June.
According to the SJTA, the inventory exercise, being carried out in accordance with the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), will be paused from May 24 onwards. However, the counting work scheduled for May 23 continued as planned.
Officials said the decision was taken considering the prevailing intense heatwave conditions, heavy inflow of devotees, and upcoming major rituals including Snana Purnima and preparations for the annual Rath Yatra.
Meetings of the Chhattisa Nijog and other related sub-committees will be held next week to chalk out a strategy for the next phase of the inventory process.
So far, the inventory exercise, which resumed on May 11 after a brief pause during the Chandana Yatra, has completed nearly 20 per cent of the work. The team has documented more than 120 ornaments from the inner chamber in approximately 57 hours and 8 minutes of counting activity.
It may be noted that the exercise had originally commenced on March 25 under tight security with the involvement of temple servitors, senior officials, gemologists and RBI personnel.