Ratna Bhandara Of Puri Jagannath Temple To Be Opened On April 4

Puri: With the Shri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) on Monday announcing the opening of the Ratna Bhandara on April 4 for inspection, millions of devotees across the world are eagerly waiting for outcome of the inspection.

Confirming the opening of the Ratna Bhandara, chief administrator of SJTA, Pradip Jena said the 10-member team nominated by the Chhatisha Nijog will conduct the inspection while strictly adhering to the standard operating procedure (SOP).

“The team will inspect the roof and wall of the Ratna Bhandara and not touch any other object inside it. 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,” Jena said, adding that each member will separately submit the inspection report to the SJTA chief administrator soon after the inspection of the Ratna Bhandara on the same day.

He said as per the rules and provisions discussed at the Chhatisha Nijog meeting, it has been decided a maximum of 10 persons would be allowed to enter into the Ratna Bhandara. They are the Puri Gajapati king, Pattajoshi Mohapatra, Bhandara Mekap, Tadhau Karana, Deula Karana, two engineers of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), two members of the ASI Core Committee GC Mitra and NC Pal, and NK Mohanty who will represent on behalf of the Orissa High Court.

It was also decided at the Chhatisha Nijog meeting that the aforesaid 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.

He, however, said that the team might add one more member of the ASI. But the decision has not been finalized till date, he pointed out.