Puri: The much-awaited repair work in the Ratna Bhandar (treasury) of Shree Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri town is set to commence on Tuesday.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which has been tasked to take up the repair, is slated to start the work after the second Bhoga Mandap, sources said.
During repair work, devotees will not be able to have Darshan of the Trinity from Bhitara Katha. However, they can have darshan of the deities from the Bahar Katha.
All efforts will be made to ensure that the rituals of the Lords are not affected due to the repair work. The ASI will set iron poles and sitting platforms on the first day on Tuesday. Subsequently, de-plastering and repair of old iron beams and cracked stones will be undertaken.
Repair work will be undertaken in both inner and outer chambers of the Ratna Bhandar. Repair work will be done for five to six hours every day after the second Bhoga Mandap.
The workers and technical persons would first repair the damaged parts of inner Ratna Bhandar in presence of ASI experts and then move on to the outer chamber of the treasury, he added.
Stating that the work would be executed as per the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of the state government, a senior ASI official said that it would pose no hindrance to devotees coming for darshan in the temple.
“The technical personnel of ASI will be engaged in the repair work which will be conducted under direct supervision of senior officials. Our technical core committee will also monitor the work from time to time,” he added.
Chief Administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Arabinda Padhee had earlier informed that the repair work would start at 1 pm after the ritual of Bhoga Mandap and would continue till 5-6 pm.
The repair work of the Lords’ treasury will not be carried out on Saturdays and Sundays and other special days. During the repair, the devotees will be allowed to have darshan of sibling deities inside the main temple from Bahar Katha (outer wooden gate).
