Puri: The empty cupboards and treasure chests in the outer and inner Ratna Bhandar of Srimandir will be shifted to a room near the Niladri Vihar temple museum August 23, the shrine’s public relations officer Jeetendra Patnaik said, Tuesday. According to Patnaik, the empty cupboards and treasure chests will be moved in accordance with the standard operating procedure (SOP) set by the state government. “The shifting process will begin at 1:00pm.
To facilitate this, the temple rituals will be rescheduled and public darshan will remain suspended until the shifting work is finished,” he said. Both the outer and inner chambers of the temple vault were opened July 14 and 18, following the SOP finalisation, and the treasure was moved to two temporary strongrooms inside the temple. However, since the cupboards and treasure chests are larger than the vault door, they were not moved, and the temple managing committee sought an additional SOP for this purpose. After the state government issued the necessary directive, the team worked out the details.
The entire Ratna Bhandar will be handed over to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to explore the possibility of other concealed treasure compartments in the facility using modern gadgets. And it will be done after a fresh SOP is issued by the state government, Patnaik said. The ASI, in consultation with the core committee and temple managing committee, will also carry out repairs to the damaged portions to stabilise the structure, temple sources said. “Darshan of the deities will be closed from 5:00pm to 9:00pm August 21 for the Banaklagi ritual,” they said.