PURI: The second phase of the Ratna Bhandar inventory will commence on Wednesday, informed chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Arabinda Padhee here.
Padhee on Tuesday said the inventory process will be carried out till Saturday, resume again for a day on April 13, and continue for three days from April 16 to 18. The schedule has been structured to avoid Saturdays, Sundays and festival days, considering the heavy influx of devotees.
In this phase, the contents of Bahar Ratna Bhandar will be counted and documented after being cross-verified with the 1978 inventory. As per the government SOP, the process will involve two teams, a three-member supervisory panel and a 10-member working and handling team, along with video and camera technicians. The process will be led by Padhee and the Ratna Bhandar committee chairman Justice Biswanath Rath.
The entire exercise will be videographed, and a digital catalogue of the deities’ ornaments will be prepared. After documentation, the ornaments will be wrapped in velvet and preserved in separate Sindhukas (treasure chests) designated for gold, silver, and other precious metals.
The temple administration has assured that rituals will continue uninterrupted, and devotees will be allowed darshan of the deities from Bahar Katha during the inventory period.
As per the 1978 inventory, the Bahar Ratna Bhandar houses 79 gold ornaments, many studded with rare precious stones, weighing 8,175 bhari (1 bhari equals 12.06 grams), along with 39 silver ornaments weighing 4,671 bhari.
On the day, Padhee chaired a meeting of the Chhatisha Nijog followed by a sub-committee meeting on the rituals of Srimandir. It was decided to use the three new Ratna Palankas for the Trinity from April 14.