BHUBANESWAR : STRUCTURAL conservation of Shree Jagannath Temple’s Ratna Bhandar was completed by the Archaeological Survey of India on Monday.
The work was taken up on December 12 last year, 47 years after the Bhitara (inner) Ratna Bhandar was last opened for inventory. Elaborating on the conservation works undertaken, head of ASI Puri circle DB Garnayak said 15 stainless steel beams of different sizes have been used in the Ratna Bhandar - six in the Bahara (outer) Bhandar and nine in the Bhitara Bhandar.
“One of the major conservation works was of the corbel in the treasury, which has been entirely changed,” he said further informing that 520 stone slabs of different sizes have been replaced in both outer and inner walls of the Ratna Bhandar.
Similarly, special attention has been paid to replacing the entire flooring of Ratna Bhandar which has been done in granite stone. “The base of the flooring has been set in sandstone and topped with Khondalite. On the top of this base, granite has been laid in both the chambers which will keep it strong for ages. Even if iron chests or almirahs are taken inside the chambers, they won’t damage the flooring,” Garnayak informed.
The ASI chief asserted that the repair work has been such that no structural problem will be witnessed in Ratna Bhandar for many years. “All the cracks that were witnessed in laser scanning of the structure have been addressed. Roof of the Ratna Bhandar has been sealed to prevent any water leakage,” he said.
There was water leakage in the Ratna Bhandar for more than 40 years as a result of which, the existing old wrought iron beams had rusted and developed cracks and bends. In November, 2023, ASI had conducted condition mapping (laser scanning) at 49 points of the Ratna Bhandar’s outer walls on its northern side to ascertain structural stability. The 3D images showed cracks at many locations on the walls. The national monument conservation body had suspected that these cracks might have caused water seepage into the inner chamber of the Ratna Bhandar.
Also known as the ‘Amuha Deula’, the Ratna Bhandar is located in the northern direction of the Srimandir. There is no date assigned to the structure as it was a later addition to the 12th century shrine. Last week, Puri king Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb had reviewed the conservation work and said that inventorisation of jewels and ornaments of the Trinity will begin after the Ratna Bhandar conservation work is completed.