BHUBANESWAR: Amidst speculations from many quarters and some literature mentioning presence of secret chambers and a tunnel in the Ratna Bhandar of Shree Jagannath temple in Puri, the Ratna Bhandar inventorisation committee in a meeting on Monday decided of going for another round of examination of the treasury, this time using scientific methods and non-destructive technology.
Since this component was not in the standard operating procedure (SOP) that the committee prepared for opening of the treasury and shifting of valuables, another SOP in this regard has been readied and handed to the temple managing committee for further examination. The SOP will then be sent to the state government for approval.
After the core committee shifted all the jewels and ornaments of the Bhitara (inner) Bhandar to the designated strongroom on July 18, the said chamber was examined but no other chamber or tunnel, as claimed by some historians, was found.
“However, as there is a lot of speculation about it and it has also been written about in some books, we would want to examine this aspect too, to rule out all the doubts and rumours about Ratna Bhandar,” said Justice Biswanath Rath, who chairs the Ratna Bhandar inventorisation committee.
The government, he suggested, can take the help of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Srimandir technical conservation committee for the purpose. “Today, there are many non-destructive scientific methods like laser scanning and ground penetrating radar which can detect any possible tunnel or chambers, without doing any damage to the structure,” he said.
Based on the examination report, the inventorisation committee will take the next step. If no existing structure is found within the Bhitara and Bahara (outer) chambers, the Ratna Bhandar will be handed over to ASI for conservation work, Justice Rath informed.
Prior to that, the old almirahs and chests in the Ratna Bhandar, which stored the jewels and ornaments of the Trinity, will be shifted to another room within the temple complex. The process will be videographed. The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration will decide on the room within the shrine where the empty containers will be kept. Since shifting of the almirahs and chests was also not in the SOP, the inventorisation committee has prepared another SOP for it. The almirahs and chests will be preserved.
Earlier, Justice Rath had informed that some of the wooden almirahs were in severely dilapidated condition and some even broke while being moved to check the presence of anything behind them, on July 18.
During examination of Ratna Bhandar chambers, care will be taken not to affect any of the rituals and ‘darshan’ of the Trinity.