PURI: Inventory of the Srimandir’s Bhitar Ratna Bhandar will commence from March 25, said chief administrator of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Arabinda Padhee here on Monday.
After attending the meeting of the Shree Jagannath temple managing committee presided over by Puri Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, Padhee told mediapersons that the inventory of the Trinity’s ornaments will begin between 12.12 pm and 1.45 pm on the seventh day of the Chaitra month Sukla Pakshya.
He said the meeting elaborately discussed the standard operating procedure (SOP) laid down by the state government and passed it. The fresh inventory will be carried out in comparison to the previous one conducted in 1978.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has agreed to depute two senior officers, while nationalised banks will submit a list of panelled goldsmiths. The state government will provide two gemologists to categorise the precious and semi-precious stones studded in the ornaments, said Padhee.
The district magistrate would bring the Ratna Bhandar keys from the treasury for the inventory process and deposit those back after the work is over for the day.
The chief administrator further informed that a three-member panel will supervise the entire operation. A 10-member body will physically put the ornaments in the designated chests. Separate chests have been constructed for the gold, silver and other precious ornaments. Video camera teams and operators will be chosen by the chief administrator. The entire process, along with the ornaments, will be digitised and stored for future reference.
Darshan of the deities will be regulated on the inventory days. Devotees can have darshan of the Trinity from the Bahar Katha. The inventory work will remain suspended on festival days and every Saturday and Sunday due to heavy rush of devotees, Padhee said.
“The Orissa High Court has directed that the inventory process be completed within three months. But considering the enormous work, we would approach the court to extend the time limit,” he added. It had taken 72 days for the last inventory of the Ratna Bhandar carried out in 1978.
On the day, the temple managing committee also passed the `82 crore surplus annual budget for 2026-27. The corpus fund has gone up to `1,600 crore after adding the `500 crore sanctioned by the state government. Padhee said efforts were on to open the Gundicha temple for devotees after completion of repairs.