Puri: The managing committee of the Jagannath temple in Puri Monday approved the standard operating procedure (SOP) for conducting scanning of the Ratna Bhandar (treasury) of the 12th-century shrine with the latest scientific tools.
The Ratna Bhandar was reopened last month after 46 years for an inventory of valuables and the repair of its structure. It has two chambers – inner and outer.
A section of the people believe that more chambers or tunnels may be inside the inner chamber though, they are not seen by the naked eye, Shree Jagannath Managing Committee (SJMC) said.
“In order to clear the doubts from people’s mind, the SJMC approved scientific or leaser scanning before repair of the Ratna Bhandar,” a member of the committee said after a meeting in which the SOP was approved.
Another SOP for shifting empty cupboards and chests from the inner Ratna Bhandar before its repair work, also got the SJMC’s approval, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Chief Administrator Arabinda Padhee told reporters.
The SJMC’s approval will be informed to the state government, he said.
Padhee, an IAS officer, said five to six proposals were discussed in the Monda’s emergency meeting.
“All ornaments and valuables from the inner and outer chambers of Ratna Bhandar have been shifted to the temporary strong room. Old articles like cupboards are still inside the inner chamber and these have to be shifted before the repair work,” he said.
The SJTA chief administrator said that the SJMC also approved the draft Shree Jagannath Temple Land Management Rules, 2024 and it will be implemented after getting the government’s nod.
Referring to another issue, Padhee said the Temple Administration had received 35 air-conditioned mini e-buses under a government scheme.
“These were provided by Odisha Bridge & Construction Corporation Limited. The meeting decided to move the Odisha government to hand over the buses to the state transport corporation or any other agency for their management,” he said.
On rice collected from devotees through ‘Arpana Raths’ during the tenure of the previous BJD government, Padhee said the managing committee has asked him and the district collector to hold discussions with different groups of servitors and submit a proposal with regards to it to the state government.
Padhee also said that the Puri SP has suggested upgrading the Singhadwar police station into a model police station.
PTI