Puri: Eminent sand artist Sudarsan Patnaik has sought the intervention of Puri king Gajapati Dibyasingh Deb in opening the Ratna Bhandar (treasury) of Jagannath temple.
In a letter to Gajapati, Patnaik said since the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has sought to inspect the inside of the Ratna Bhandar, the Srimandir managing committee should request the Odisha government to open the treasure house of the temple.
Patnaik, who himself is a member of the managing committee, requested the king as head of the committee to initiate steps in this regard.
The sad artist also questioned why the issue has not been taken up for discussion in the meeting of the managing committee. “As it is a matter of safety and security of the Bhandar and concerns the religious sentiments of the devotees, there should not be further delay in reopening the room,” he added.
He also raised the issue of opening of all gates of the temple in the letter. “There has been a discontentment among the devotees, particularly the locals, on the closure of three doors. During the COVID pandemic, three doors were closed for the devotees in order to prevent spread of the disease. Now, since the situation has normalised, there should not be any ground for not opening all the gates,” he said.
